French government collapses after Bayrou loses confidence vote
French prime minister François Bayrou lost a confidence vote in the National Assembly on Monday, bringing an end to his premiership just nine months after taking office. The 74-year-old leader of the Democratic Movement is now out of power.
Yaël Braun-Pivet, president of the National Assembly, announced the result at 19:00: 364 votes against, with only 194 in support of Bayrou’s government.
The prime minister had sought the vote in order to secure backing for his government’s unpopular budget plans. However, the outcome was widely expected, as both the far-right and the left-wing opposition had already declared they would not approve the proposals.
According to a source close to him, Bayrou intends to submit his resignation to French president Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday morning. Attention now shifts to Macron, who, since dissolving parliament in 2024, faces the challenge of appointing another prime minister. Bayrou was the sixth prime minister under Macron since his 2017 election. An attempt last week to rally support through a meeting of all coalition party leaders ended in failure.
Bayrou’s government had sought to push through 44 billion euros in spending cuts, aimed at reducing the budget deficit from 5.4 per cent to 4.6 per cent. His plans included controversial measures such as the removal of Easter Monday and Victory Day on 8 May as official public holidays.
Francois Bayrou during the public session for the government's general policy statement. National Assembly. Paris, 8 September, 2025. ©PHOTO HANS LUCAS COLLECTION
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