French President Emmanuel Macron under pressure to find a new PM or quit

French President Emmanuel Macron, whose term as president ends in 2027, is under pressure to resign after his chosen prime minister Michel Barnier resigned on Thursday, 5 December after losing a vote of confidence in the national assembly on Wednesday evening. Barnier is the fifth prime minister to serve under Macron since he came to power in 2017, with each of them staying for shorter periods than the predecessor.

Under the French Constitution, it is the president who appoints the PM but the latter needs to secure a vote of confidence in the national assembly. The president is also empowered to call for an election once every year. The fractured mandate in the July, 2024 election led to political uncertainties till Macron managed to get the far-right and the centre-right to agree on Barnier.

These are the developments since Michel Barnier lost the vote of confidence on Wednesday evening:

1. French Prime Minister Michel Barnier called on President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday morning to submit his resignation.

2. A majority of 331 MPs in the 577-member chamber voted to oust the government on Wednesday night

3. A majority of lawmakers supported the no-confidence vote proposed by the radical left and backed by the radical right headed by Marine Le Pen

4.  The trigger for Barnier's ouster was his 2025 budget plan including austerity measures that were unacceptable to the majority but which he argued were necessary to stabilise France's finances

5. The successful no-confidence motion derailed the annual budget plan and led to the automatic renewal of the current budget into next year

6. Formation of a new government, a new budget plan and rushing through to secure the approval of the national assembly by Christmas is the only other option, which appear unlikely and improbable

7. Ratings agency Moody's warned that Barnier's fall "deepens the country's political stalemate" and "reduces the probability of a consolidation of public finances"

8. National Assembly Speaker Yael Braun-Pivet on Thursday urged Macron to waste no time in choosing a new premier, saying that France could not be allowed to "drift" for any length of time

9. Reports suggest that Macron would like to appoint a new PM within 24 hours. Loyalist defence minister Sebastien Lecornu and Macron's centrist ally Francois Bayrou have been touted as possible contenders, as has former Socialist premier and interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve

President Macron will address the nation at 8.00 pm French time, around midnight in India on Thursday, his office said.