On the brink of the next crisis/ Who can govern France?

2025-08-26 08:35:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

In France, political life after the summer holidays is starting to show signs of crisis: Prime Minister Bayrou will present a vote of confidence to parliament. He needs support for his austerity policy. But the chances are not good.

French Prime Minister François Bayrou is taking all this into account when putting his political future on the line. In a press conference, he announced that he will submit a motion for a vote of confidence to parliament on September 8th.

This aims to create clarity, said Bayrou. He has asked the president to call an extraordinary parliamentary session.

"After the government statement, it will seek a vote of confidence," Bayrou said. "This aims at the fundamental issue of whether there is a danger to the nation – whether urgent action is needed – and to find a way to escape the evil, so that we can have our finances under control.

Interest burden is the largest part of the budget

All summer, Bayrou has been warning that France needs to make massive savings. As early as July, the prime minister presented the main pillars of the budget for next year. Around 44 billion euros must be saved in it. Otherwise, there is a threat of super-debt, which could paralyze the country economically and politically. This year, the interest burden will be the largest part of the budget, Bayrou emphasized during the press conference. Prime Minister Bayrou also proposed removing May 8 and Easter Sunday from the list of public holidays. But there is resistance to his budget plans - not only at the political level, but also in civil society. For weeks, a movement called Bloquons Tout (Block All) has been taking shape, which will paralyze the country on September 10.

"Bayrou has chosen his own farewell date"

The left-wing LFI party has joined this movement by calling for a general strike. And of course it will withdraw the vote of confidence in the government, says the head of the LFI parliamentary group, Mathilde Panot. Bayrou is in a way giving himself the vote of no confidence, says the politician. "He has understood very well that after the summer parliamentary recess he will lose his post anyway." Against the backdrop of resistance, which has also been declared by civil society, Bayrou seems to have chosen his own date for farewell. "We are happy for this first victory of the protest and will approve the overthrow of the prime minister and the government," says Panot.

The opposition's target is actually Macron

The leaders of the parliamentary groups of the ecologists and communists, who with the LFI are part of the so-called New Popular Front, a left-wing alliance in parliament, have also declared that they will not give the prime minister a vote of confidence. The radical right-wing party Rassemblement National (RN) will also act in the same way. Thomas Ménagé is the spokesman for the RN parliamentary group in the National Assembly and told France Info television: "I know that the question of confidence is raised to ensure a majority. François Bayrou does not have this majority either in the National Assembly or in the country. It would be a betrayal of our voters if this government were given a vote of confidence." So Bayrou will probably leave. But in fact, the goal of both the RN and the LFI is not François Bayrou, but Emmanuel Macron. By overthrowing the government, both these parties want to force the president to resign and impose early parliamentary elections.

Who will govern France?

The government and its prime minister will have a very difficult time. The responsibility now lies with the deputies, says Bayrou. On September 8, it is up to the parliament to decide - and everyone is responsible to the French people, Bayrou said at the press conference. The biggest risk is to do nothing. If he and his government fall, the question arises as to who will govern France in the current constellation of parliament - or whether governance is really possible. It is also unclear whether President Macron will dissolve the National Assembly again. / DW