Tasila Hummel and Ingrid Melander
PARIS (Reuters) – French President Emmanuel Macron will appoint a new prime minister in the coming days, whose top priority will be getting parliament to pass the 2025 budget, he said on Thursday after the government was ousted by lawmakers.
Michel Barnier, a veteran conservative, became the shortest-serving prime minister in modern French history when he resigned on Thursday after parliament ousted him over his financial plans, just three months after his appointment.
In a televised address to the nation, Macron said he would name Barnier’s successor “in the coming days.”
“The priority will be the budget,” Macron said.
By mid-December, a special law will be issued that will extend the budget for 2024 and prevent gaps. The new government will then prepare a full budget early next year, specifically adjusted for inflation, for a vote in parliament.
Macron, whose ill-fated decision to call a snap vote in June left parliament deeply divided, has denied responsibility for the political crisis.
The president, who represents a centrist party, said far-right and left-wing parties had united in an “anti-republican front” to create “disorder” by removing Barnier.
Macron has been weakened by the crisis but has resisted calls from some in the opposition to resign. He confirmed that he will remain in office until his term expires in May 2027.
“The assignment you gave me is for five years, and I will fulfill it until the end,” he said.
In a 10-minute speech, he added that the new government should represent various parties that want to participate in it or at least agree not to condemn it. He did not say which ones.
Meanwhile, Macron asked Barnier and his government to remain in charge until a new government is formed.
FISCAL DEFICIT, DIVIDED PARLIAMENT
It was unclear whether the new government would be in place by Saturday’s ceremony to open Notre Dame Cathedral, which has been renovated after a devastating fire. It is expected to be attended by world leaders, including US President-elect Donald Trump.
Macron cited the renovation of the Gothic cathedral and the successful Olympics in Paris this summer as proof that France can achieve this.
“They are proof that we can do great things. We can do the impossible,” he said. “The world admires us for it.”
Macron had lunch on Thursday with Francois Bayroux, who has been named by French media as a possible successor to Barnier, Le Parisien newspaper reported. An aide to Bairu did not respond to a request for comment.
Any new prime minister will face the same challenge of dealing with a fractured parliament as Barnier, notably passing a budget at a time when France needs to rein in its public finances.
French bonds and stocks rose on Thursday on what some traders called profit-taking after the widely expected outcome of a no-confidence vote in parliament that ousted Barnier. But the relief effort is unlikely to last, given the extent of political uncertainty.
“Ahead of a potential new election, continued political uncertainty is likely to keep the risk premium on French assets elevated,” SocGen analysts said in a note. The earliest date for parliamentary elections is July.
The fall of France’s government leaves the country without a clear path to reducing its budget deficit, and the most likely outcome will be less tightening of belts than previously planned, ratings agency Standard and Poor’s (NYSE: ) said.
