SaralnamaFrançois Bayrou, the French prime minister, is set to lose a confidence vote on his stewardship, in the latest twist in a period of chaos inside the National Assembly. Bayrou, 74, is the fourth prime minister in two years under President Emmanuel Macron, whose second term is office has been overshadowed by political instability. Bayrou's minority government called for €44bn (£38bn) of budget cuts to tackle France's mounting public debt and is now is heading for collapse. The BBC looks at what led to this political crisis and what could happen next. French President Emmanuel Macron took a gamble in. Faced with a bruising loss for his party in the European Parliament vote, he called a snap parliamentary election which he hoped would achieve "a clear majority in serenity and harmony". Instead, it resulted in a hung, divided… (Updated 8 Sep 2025, 22:17 IST; source: link)
Key Points
- François Bayrou, the French prime minister, is set to lose a confidence vote on his stewardship, in the latest twist in a period of chaos inside the National Assembly
- Bayrou, 74, is the fourth prime minister in two years under President Emmanuel Macron, whose second term is office has been overshadowed by political instability
- Bayrou's minority government called for €44bn (£38bn) of budget cuts to tackle France's mounting public debt and is now is heading for collapse