General
Thursday Briefing
A no-confidence vote in France.
Prime Minister Michel Barnier of France after the no-confidence vote.Credit…Sarah Meyssonnier/Reuters
France’s prime minister lost a no-confidence vote
French lawmakers passed a no-confidence measure against Prime Minister Michel Barnier and his cabinet yesterday, deepening the political turmoil that has left the country without a clear path to a new budget and that threatens to further jolt financial markets. He is expected to resign.
France’s lower house of Parliament passed the measure with 331 votes, well above the majority of 288 votes that were required, after Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally joined moves by the chamber’s leftist coalition to oust the government. It was the first successful no-confidence vote in France in over 60 years.
President Emmanuel Macron, the nation’s top leader, remains in power, but support for him is shaky, following his surprise decision last summer to call a snap parliamentary election. His party and its allies lost many seats to the far right and the left — competing forces that bitterly oppose him.
Context: The vote comes at a difficult time for France, which is struggling with high debt and a widening deficit, challenges that have been compounded by two years of flat growth.
