Francois Bayrou

September 9, 2025 2:15 PM

France’s Macron seeks new prime minister after government’s collapse

French President Emmanuel Macron is seeking his fifth prime minister in less than two years after opposition parties united to kick out centre-right Prime Minister Francois Bayrou over his unpopular plans for budget tightening. Bayrou, handed a 364-194 defeat in a parliamentary confidence vote on Monday, will officially hand in his resignation to Macron during Tuesday. Whoever Macron picks to succeed him will face the near impossible task of uniting parliament and finding ways to get a budget ...

September 9, 2025 10:08 AM

Stalemate or surrender: France’s Macron is left with no good options

The challenge French President Emmanuel Macron faces in choosing his fifth prime minister in under two years lays bare the depth of a political crisis that in many ways is of his own making, and one with no clear path out. Francois Bayrou is set to tender his resignation as prime minister on Tuesday, a day after parliament voted to bring down the government over its plans for taming the budget deficit. Bayrou's predecessor, Michel Barnier, had suffered the same fate over his fiscal plans only ...

September 9, 2025 9:46 AM

French parliament ousts prime minister, deepening political crisis

France's parliament brought down the government on Monday over its plans to tame the ballooning national debt, deepening a political crisis that is weakening the euro zone's second-largest economy. Lawmakers voted to oust Prime Minister Francois Bayrou and his minority government with 364 votes against the veteran centrist politician and 194 in his favour. President Emmanuel Macron, who is facing calls from the opposition to dissolve parliament and resign, will instead hunt for his fifth p...

September 8, 2025 3:58 PM

France faces more turmoil with government on brink of collapse ahead of confidence vote

France's fourth prime minister in less than two years, François Bayrou, faces defeat in a confidence vote on Monday, tipping the euro zone's second-biggest economy further into political and economic paralysis. The minority government's expected collapse looks set to deepen France's problems at a critical time for Europe, which is seeking unity in the face of Russia's war against Ukraine, an increasingly dominant China and trade tensions with the United States. The turmoil also threatens Fran...

July 28, 2025 4:03 PM

French PM says EU-US trade deal an act of ‘submission’ and a dark day for Europe

France called a framework trade deal between the United States and European Union a "dark day" for Europe, saying the bloc had caved in to U.S. President Donald Trump with an unbalanced deal that slaps a headline 15% tariff on EU goods while sparing U.S. imports from any immediate European retaliation. The criticism from Prime Minister Francois Bayrou followed months of French calls for EU negotiators to take a tougher stance against Trump by threatening reciprocal measures — a position that ...