no-confidence Barnier loses vote as government falls

Opposition parties cooperate to topple the French PM and his administration, the first such vote in more than 60 years

- TOM WATLING & CHRIS STEVENSON

Michel Barnier has become the shortest-serving French prime minister in modern history as opposition parties have ousted his government in a historic no-confidence vote – which hands president Emmanuel Macron a fresh political crisis.

Mr Barnier’s government is the first to be forced out by such a vote in more than 60 years, with the trigger being a clash over the country’s budget for next year. A majority of 331 voted in support of the motion to remove him; a minimum of 288 was needed.

Opposition parties tabled the motion after Mr Barnier controversially used special constitutional powers to force through a budget without a vote. The former Brexit negotiator was only appointed by Mr Macron in September.

The National Assembly, France’s lower house of parliament, is deeply fractured, with no single party holding a majority. It comprises three major blocs: Mr Macron’s centrist allies, the left-wing coalition New Popular Front, and the far-right National Rally (RN). Both opposition blocs, typically at odds, have united against Mr Barnier, accusing him of imposing austerity measures and failing to address citizens’ needs.

“We have arrived at the moment of truth,” far-right National Rally leader Marine Le Pen told parliament as the debate on the no-confidence motions started. And hard-left France Unbowed MP Eric Coquerel told Mr Barnier: “You will be the first prime minister to be censured since Georges Pompidou in 1962.”