French Prime Minister Michel Barnier resigns after no-confidence vote passes

France’s Prime Minister Michel Barnier handed his resignation to President Emmanuel Macron at around 10:00 this morning (December 5) after being ousted last night by a no-confidence vote from MPs.

The motion was brought by the left-wing parties in the Nouveau Front Populaire (NFP) coalition. It passed due to support from the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) despite both disagreeing on almost all budget policies.

We have translated the wording of the motion, which explains the NFP’s motives, here. 

The vote, which took around 45 minutes to come, was 331 for the motion.

It was brought following the use of the controversial mechanism Article 49.3 by Mr Barnier to force through parts of the 2025 French budget having failed to receive support from MPs. Use of this article opens up the chance for MPs to place a motion of no-confidence.

Mr Barnier had held the post for just three months after being appointed to run the government by President Emmanuel Macron.

It makes him the shortest-lived prime minister in France’s Fifth Republic. 

Mr Barnier, 73, will remain in place as caretaker prime minister until Mr Macron announces a new government. Sources close to the president are reported to say this will happen very quickly.

Read our article here for more on what happens next.

 Reactions across the spectrum

 The president will hold a televised speech at 20:00 in response to the vote, where he will address the public on the situation.

Far-right stalwart Marine Le Pen said the RN "will work with the future prime minister... to co-write a budget that works for all" and alleviate the political chaos.

The RN brought its own motion but a vote did not take place on it, as the left's motion was voted on first.

It is unclear who will be appointed the next prime minister, but MPs on the left are adamant it should be Lucie Castets, their nominee in the summer.

"Stability requires the resignation of the President of the Republic," said La France Insoumise MP Manuel Bompard this morning, however Mr Macron previously said his resignation was not an option regardless of the outcome of the Barnier government.

Green Party senator Yannick Jadot said the "President [must] appoint someone from our camp because we came first in the National Assembly. We put together a package of emergency measures. On that basis, I'm prepared to form a government, initially from the left and the ecologists, with ministers from the central bloc. That's the principle of a coalition." 

He said the alternative was for the centrists to form an official coalition with the RN. 

Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure has called on the president to hold a meeting with all parties that made up the 'Republican Front' this summer - this grouping encompasses all parties other than the RN and its allies, including the far-left La France Insoumise (LFI).

This is a controversial position, as centrist politicians, including former prime minister Gabriel Attal, ruled out working with the LFI in any coalition.

Leader of the right-wing Les Républicains Laurent Wauquiez said the party would not vote in favour of toppling any new prime minister announced by Mr Macron, regardless of which party it comes from.

However, he said the party's joining of a new governing coalition, regardless of the leading party, was conditional on a series of requirements from its MPs.

France has been beset by political uncertainty since snap parliamentary elections in June and July that were called unexpectedly by President Macron and which resulted in no single group having a majority.

While a left-wing alliance won most seats (but not an absolute majority), Mr Macron appointed the conservative Mr Barnier in a bid to reinstate stability - but his government has been consistently undermined because of its lack of majority.

Mr Barnier was appointed after July’s legislative elections, with MPs from the left (under the NFP), centre and right (Macron’s party, his allies, and Les Républicains) and the far-right (under the RN) occupying roughly a third of the chamber each.