French government collapses as Prime Minister Michel Barnier loses no-confidence vote
The French government has collapsed after Prime Minister Michel Barnier lost a vote of no confidence.
It follows his decision to use special powers to force a social security budget through the lower house of parliament without a final vote after a last-minute concession was not enough to win support from the far-right National Rally (RN).
In the end far-right and left-wing lawmakers joined forces to back a no-confidence motion in Mr Barnier and his government. The National Assembly approved the motion by 331 votes. A minimum of 288 were needed.
The outcome marks the first time a French government has lost a confidence vote since 1962.
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Mr Barnier, formerly the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, is expected to tender his resignation and that of his government to President Emmanuel Macron shortly.
The 73-year-old was appointed in September and will become the shortest-serving prime minister in France’s modern Republic.
Marine Le Pen, president of the National Rally party, said after the vote that she is not calling for Mr Macron’s resignation but “pressure is piling up”.
Mr Barnier after the result of the vote. Pic: Reuters
Marine Le Pen laughs during a debate on the no confidence vote. Pic: Reuters
Mr Macron, on his way back from a presidential visit to Saudi Arabia, said discussions about him potentially resigning were “make-believe politics”, according to French media reports.
He is due to address the people of France tomorrow evening following the result of the no confidence vote.
The outcome means he will need to appoint a new prime minister for the second time after July’s legislative elections led to a deeply-divided parliament.
The National Assembly, France’s lower house of parliament, is fractured, with no single party holding a majority. It comprises three major blocs: Macron’s centrist allies; the left-wing coalition New Popular Front; and the far-right National Rally.
The escalating political crisis in France has threatened to send the eurozone’s second-biggest economy into uncertain territory.
It comes at a time of tension in Europe, with the imminent return of Donald Trump to the White House and the war in Ukraine continuing to drag on.
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Analysis: Barnier’s rivals smelled blood and rounded on him
He was meant to be the man to dig Emmanuel Macron out of a hole.
The skilled negotiator who ran rings around the British during the interminable Brexit negotiations.
Michel Barnier’s short-lived spell in power began with some promise. The far-right French leader Marine Le Pen said he was someone she could do business with, but the honeymoon was short-lived.
Mr Barnier’s rivals smelled blood and rounded on him. They rejected attempts to bring pragmatism to the task of resolving France’s mounting fiscal crisis. In frustration, he tried to ram his plan through parliament, triggering a vote of no confidence.
He has now paid the price after a long illustrious career in French politics and has become the first prime minister to lose such a vote since 1962. The hole he was meant to extricate his master from has only deepened.
His former British antagonists in the Brexit negotiations may have a feeling of schadenfreude, others may be more sympathetic.
His master, President Macron, must now find someone else to take on the job, which could be seen as a poisoned chalice. They will find it equally challenging trying to resolve the impasse.
France spends far more than it brings in through revenues, and that deficit is unsustainable, says the European Union. But the longer this instability goes on, the cost of borrowing for the French state could only increase, potentially leading to a spiralling crisis.
And the fate of the country’s president is central to all this. Emmanuel Macron says he will stay in the job until 2027 and his office is vested with great executive powers under the constitution of the Fifth Republic.
The more he wields them though, the more his enemies will make the charge he is acting undemocratically. That may ease the far right’s accession to power should he end up being forced to resign. There is a huge amount at stake.
Why did the vote take place?
The vote of no confidence in Mr Barnier rose from fierce opposition to his proposed budget for 2025.
This week, he decided to use special powers to push through his budget, having failed to receive support from MPs.
That decision angered the National Rally party and the left-wing alliance New Popular Front (NFP), both of which tabled no-confidence motions in him.
France is struggling to tame a massive budget deficit which is projected to exceed 6% of national output this year.
Mr Barnier’s budget had sought to cut the fiscal deficit with €60bn (£49.7bn) in tax hikes and spending cuts.
It aimed to cut the deficit down to 5% next year.
Emmanuel Macron, right, in Saudi Arabia on the day of the no confidence vote. Pic: Reuters
France under pressure from EU
In his final speech before the vote, Mr Barnier said: “As this mission may soon come to an end, I can tell you that it will remain an honour for me to have served France and the French with dignity.
“This no-confidence motion… will make everything more serious and more difficult. That’s what I’m sure of.”
France is under pressure from the European Union to reduce its colossal debt.
The country’s deficit is estimated to rise to 7% next year without drastic adjustments.
The political instability could push up French interest rates, deepening the debt even further.
World
US blocks Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and 80 other officials from United Nations’ annual meeting in New York
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and 80 other officials have been blocked from attending September’s annual meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio has revoked the US visas of delegates from the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), and denied others from applying for one.
It is the latest step by Donald Trump’s administration to target Palestinians with visa restrictions, and follows the suspension of a programme to allow injured children from Gaza to receive treatment in the US.
Mahmoud Abbas addressed the general assembly in 2024, but is barred from next month’s meeting. Pic: Reuters
“It is in our national security interests to hold the PLO and PA accountable for not complying with their commitments, and for undermining the prospects for peace,” a statement from the US State Department said.
It added that, to be considered partners for peace, both groups “must consistently repudiate terrorism, and end incitement to terrorism in education, as required by US law and as promised by the PLO”.
Offensive will cause ‘intolerable deaths’
Several US allies, including France, Malta, and Australia have announced plans to recognise Palestine as a state at September’s United Nations General Assembly. Canada and the UK will too, unless Israel meets certain conditions.
Israel declared Gaza’s largest city a dangerous combat zone on Friday.
The army launched a planned offensive that has drawn international condemnation.
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Thick smoke rises from Gaza City after Israeli strikes
Foreign ministers from Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Norway, Slovenia and Spain released a joint statement saying the military operations in Gaza City will cause “intolerable deaths of innocent Palestinian civilians”.
Gaza latest: Israel’s Gaza City offensive condemned
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are sheltering in Gaza City while enduring famine.
An Israeli armoured vehicle in northern Gaza on Friday. Pic: AP
Palestinians ride a truck carrying humanitarian aid in Gaza City. Pic: AP
The Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations (UN), Riyad Mansour, said Mr Abbas had planned to lead the delegation to the UN meetings and was expected to address the general assembly at the general debate, which begins on 23 September.
He was also expected to attend a high-level meeting co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia on 22 September about a two-state solution, a broad idea involving Israel coexisting with an independent Palestinian state.
The State of Palestine is an observer member of the UN, meaning it can speak at meetings but not vote on resolutions.
The State of Palestine cannot vote on UN resolutions. Pic: AP
US decision ‘contravenes international law’
The Palestinian Authority “expressed its deep regret and astonishment” at the visa decision, calling it “a violation of US commitments” as the host of the UN, and claiming it “contravenes international law”.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the world body would be seeking clarification in the “hope that this will be resolved”.
Hundreds of diplomats left when Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu began speaking at the general assembly in 2024. Pic: Reuters
The State Department said that the Palestinian Authority’s mission to the UN, comprising officials who are permanently based there, would not be included in the restrictions.
Under a 1947 UN agreement, the US is generally required to allow access for foreign diplomats to the UN in New York.
But Washington has said it can deny visas for security, extremism and foreign policy reasons.
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The death toll in Gaza has now risen to 63,025, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
It also reported five more malnutrition-related deaths in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number during the war to 322, with 121 of them children.
World
Brazil implores businesses to attend major climate summit, despite ‘second thoughts’ amid Trump backlash
The Brazilian hosts of the biggest climate meeting of the year have implored businesses to attend in November, amid concerns some are backing away from the climate agenda into the shadow of Donald Trump.
In an interview with Sky News, Ana Toni, chief executive of the COP30 climate summit in November, admitted some companies were having “second thoughts” about the global switch to green economies because policymakers were creating uncertainty.
The US President Donald Trump has been attacking wind farms and waging tariff wars that could slow the transition to green energy.
Banks including HSBC and Barclays have ditched a net zero alliance set up just four years ago by Mark Carney, now the Canadian Prime Minister.
Ana Toni, Brazil’s climate secretary, is chief executive of the COP30 climate talks. Pic: Reuters
But even before Trump took office, tech companies were quietly dropping climate targets to prioritise energy-hungry AI, and other businesses were “greenhushing” their climate initiatives for fear of backlash.
In this environment, there are fears fewer business leaders will attend the annual talks, which are also being hosted in a city on the edge of the Amazon that hasn’t enough hotel rooms.
On Friday, the COP30 team wrote to business leaders urging them to “step forward, not back” and travel to Belem, despite “logistical challenges” and the “background of systemic uncertainty”.
Ana Toni told Sky News: “We are very concerned that the enabling conditions must be there so that the private sector can also deliver where they do best, which is bringing in technology, bringing innovation and accelerating the process of decarbonisation.”
In August the share price of Danish wind farm developer plummeted after the US halted its Rhode Island wind farm, while the British Tories and Reform parties are also attacking net zero.
Ana Toni met with King Charles and leaders of other COP summits at Clarence House last year. Pic: Reuters
But Ms Toni there is “nothing to panic [about], because we can see that the transition is inevitable,” citing major progress in China, India and Europe and Brazil.
Referring to the US’s withdrawal from the COP process, she said: “198 countries minus one is not zero. And we will put all our efforts of working with the 197 countries that want to go forward and want to protect their population.”
“Climate action is not only [still] cool, it is necessary,” Ms Toni said.
“We all need to face reality. We are going through a huge climate crisis… If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem. Companies understand that.”
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