By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
PARIS (Worthy News) – French President Emmanuel Macron will address the nation on Thursday after the government lost a no-confidence vote, Worthy News learned.
Michel Barnier, 73, became France’s shortest-serving prime minister since the 1958 founding of the Fifth Republic, its current republican system of government.
He was ousted when the far-right opposition National Rally of Marine Le Pen joined leftist parties to bring down the government.
The vote was sparked by Barnier’s decision to use a constitutional mechanism called Article 49.3, which enables legislation to be adopted without a vote but opens the door to no-confidence motions.
He made the move after a last-minute concession was insufficient to win support from the influential far-right National Rally (RN) for his budget plans.
Yet the development risked further unsettling investors, who have already pushed up France’s borrowing costs beyond those of countries like Spain and Greece.
France now has a caretaker government, and President Macron must appoint a new prime minister who, analysts say, faces the same political turmoil and divided parliament as Barnier.
BARNIER BACK?
In theory, Macron could reappoint Barnier, who had been in power since September.
Yet Barnier did appear to rule himself out on Tuesday evening. “I want to serve,” he told media. “But what does it mean if I fall tomorrow and the day after you find me back here as if nothing had happened?”
Bernard Cazeneuve, 61, a former French prime minister and interior minister under Socialist President Francois Hollande, is among those being named as possible successors.
Already considered a possible prime minister this summer, observers say picking him could help Macron fracture the left-wing bloc by capitalizing on Cazeneuve’s ties to his former party.
Sébastien Lecornu, 38, is also mentioned. He is seen as a skilled politician who, in 2022, became the youngest defense minister since the French Revolution. “He’s a Macron loyalist who’s originally from the center-right Republicans party,” commented Bloomberg News agency.
Additionally, François Bayrou, 73, a veteran centrist leading the MoDem party and a key ally for Macron in parliament, is viewed as a possible prime minister. Currently the high commissioner for government planning, Bayrou supports proportional representation in parliamentary elections, which the National Rally has also requested.
Jean Castex, 59, a former prime minister under Macron known for his southern French accent and management skills, is another potential contender for the prime minister’s job. He heads the RATP, the state-owned company operating the Paris metro.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
More Worthy News
Christians have expressed concern after India’s central Chhattisgarh state adopted what they describe as the country’s toughest legislation against “coerced or forced religious conversions,” amid concerns about a broader crackdown on minority groups in the Hindu-majority nation.
Remembrance Day commemorations for Dutch victims of World War Two, including those who perished in the Holocaust and in later conflicts or peace missions, were overshadowed Monday by protests and vandalism blamed on suspected anti-Israel activists.
At least two people were killed and eight were injured after Russian drones attacked minibuses in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, officials said, underscoring mounting concern about strikes on civilian areas.
Ukraine has warned of increased military activity along its border with Belarus, raising concerns about a possible escalation in the more than four-year-long war triggered by Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Tensions have emerged between Budapest’s progressive mayor Gergely Karácsony and incoming conservative Prime Minister Péter Magyar, underscoring divisions ahead of Hungary’s political transition.
Tensions remained high Monday in the Dutch town of Loosdrecht after days of protests against plans to house asylum seekers, with clashes between demonstrators and police and widespread damage to municipal property.
There is mounting concern about the future of the NATO military alliance after U.S. President Donald J. Trump announced plans to withdraw thousands of troops from Germany, as transatlantic tensions deepen over the Middle East war.