French parliament set to eject PM Francois Bayrou

PARIS, France (AFP) — French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou was set to fall in a confidence vote in parliament on Monday after just nine months in the job, sparking fresh political uncertainty for France and piling pressure on President Emmanuel Macron.

Bayrou blindsided even his allies by calling a confidence vote to end a months-long standoff over his austerity budget, which foresees almost 44 billion euros ($52 billion) of cost savings to reduce France’s debt pile.

Opposition parties across the board have made it clear they will vote against his minority government, making it highly improbable he will get enough backing to survive — he needs a majority of the 577 members of parliament in the National Assembly.

Bayrou himself, who according to officials has invited his ministers for farewell drinks Monday evening, appears to acknowledge that his time has run out.

In a bitter remark on Sunday, he criticized political parties that he said “hate each other” but yet were joining forces “to bring down the government.”

Bayrou would be the second French prime minister in succession to have suffered such a fate after Michel Barnier was ejected in December after only three months in office.

Bayrou, the sixth prime minister since Macron was first elected in 2017, is expected to again warn in his parliamentary speech Monday of the “seriousness of the situation” facing France.

He is set to address parliament from 1300 GMT, with the vote expected after 1700 GMT.

Poor polls

The vote will force Macron to face one of the most critical decisions of his presidency: whether to appoint a seventh prime minister to try to thrash out a compromise, or call snap elections in a bid to have a more accommodating parliament.

He is spearheading European efforts to end Russia’s war on Ukraine, boosting his international profile, but polling at home does not make pretty reading.