‘Choosing Disorder’

French Prime Minister Michel Barnier resigned Thursday after losing a no-confidence vote in parliament a day earlier, plunging the country into political turmoil, CNN reported.

On Wednesday, 331 out of 577 lawmakers voted against Barnier’s administration, which had used a constitutional mechanism to bypass parliamentary approval for its 2025 budget proposal.

The budget, aimed to reduce France’s deficit to five percent of its gross domestic product (GDP), included $63 billion in tax hikes and $42 billion in spending cuts, with measures such as delaying pension increases tied to inflation.

Opposition lawmakers from the left-wing New Popular Front (NFP) and far-right National Rally (RN) united to oppose the bill, with left-wing Mathilde Panot and RN leader Marine Le Pen accusing the centrist Barnier of provoking voters with harsh fiscal policies.

Barnier, who was appointed just four months ago, will stay on in a caretaker role until President Emmanuel Macron appoints a new prime minister.

The no-confidence vote has left France without a budget for 2025 and missing a prime minister, adding pressure on Macron to appoint a leader capable of navigating the fractured political landscape.

France’s parliament is split into three factions following early elections in July, divisions that have made it difficult for Macron’s centrist bloc to form a stable majority. Snap elections cannot occur until mid-2025, leaving the centrist president reliant on a fragmented legislature.

The political crisis has compounded Macron’s already waning authority, halfway through his second and final term as president, Al Jazeera wrote.

Rising unpopularity after pension reforms and austerity measures has left the president vulnerable to calls for his resignation from opposition leaders, including Le Pen, who placed the blame for the government’s collapse on Macron.

But Macron, addressing the nation on Thursday, said he would not resign and placed the blame on the far-right and the far-left: “They chose disorder,” he said.

Meanwhile, France’s debt is approaching 111 percent of GDP – its highest level since World War II – and uncertainty has pushed borrowing costs higher.

The political instability also threatens Macron’s efforts to position France as a leader in European defense and integration, particularly amid concerns over the war in Ukraine and potential shifts in US foreign policy with Donald Trump’s return to the presidency.