French Prime Minister François Bayrou’s minority government was toppled on Monday night, thrusting the country even deeper into a political crisis and forcing President Emmanuel Macron to name his fifth premier in less than two years. This is the second government collapse in under a year, and it all stems from Macron’s risky decision to call snap legislative elections in June 2024.
This is a gamble that backfired and created a deeply fragmented parliament with no single party holding a majority. Now, with no guaranteed way to break the parliamentary deadlock, Macron is running out of good options. The vote of no-confidence came after Bayrou called for the vote himself, a move that surprised even his own allies. He was trying to get support for his unpopular 2026 budget plan, which aimed to cut €44 billion in savings through things like pension and healthcare cuts, as well as removing two public holidays.
