French National Assembly Ousts Prime Minister François Bayrou's Government
The French National Assembly overturned Prime Minister François Bayrou's government on Monday, with 194 votes in favor and 364 votes against during an extraordinary session in Paris. According to French media, Mr. Bayrou will submit his resignation to President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday.
On Monday afternoon, Mr. Bayrou presented a new policy statement focused on the budget emergency and the effort to reduce the public deficit before facing the votes of the lower house parliamentarians. Representatives from each parliamentary group then spoke, and the deputies voted. Out of 589 deputies, 573 attended to vote, and 558 expressed themselves. Fifteen deputies abstained, according to French media.
During his speech, Mr. Bayrou recalled that while France produces approximately 50 billion euros of additional wealth from one year to the next, it already pays more than 60 billion euros per year in interest. He assured that the country's "vital prognosis" was "engaged" due to its "over-indebtedness."
Mr. Bayrou had announced on August 25 during a press conference that he would request a vote of confidence from the National Assembly on September 8 to secure his 44 billion euro budget savings plan, presented in July.
Key Points:
- The French National Assembly voted against Prime Minister François Bayrou's government with 194 votes in favor and 364 votes against.
- Mr. Bayrou will submit his resignation to President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday.
- The vote of no confidence was triggered by Mr. Bayrou's budget savings plan, which aimed to reduce the public deficit.
- France's "over-indebtedness" and high interest payments were cited as major concerns by Mr. Bayrou during his speech.
