One in, one out. On Monday night, “Bye-bye Bayrou” parties were held around France as François Bayrou, the now ex-prime minister of France, was ejected in a landslide parliamentary confidence vote against his plans for austerity. Bayrou, the third French PM to resign in a year, had lasted just nine months. His predecessor, Michel Barnier, was toppled after just three.
Twenty-four hours after the government’s collapse, the revolving door was opened again and Emmanuel Macron appointed a successor: the 39-year-old defence minister and one of the president’s closest allies, Sébasian Lecornu. This was an uncharacteristically swift attempt by Macron to fill the vacuum and quell a mood of insurrection in the country. But it may not be enough.
