President Macron dismisses French government

French President Emmanuel Macron has accepted Prime Minister Michel Barnier’s resignation following a vote of no confidence in parliament. For the first time in modern French history, the prime minister has only served three months in office.

On 4 December, the National Assembly of France passed a vote of no confidence in Michel Barnier’s government: 331 out of 574 deputies supported the adoption of the corresponding resolution.

Barnier’s downfall was precipitated by his decision to invoke Article 49.3 of the French constitution, which allows the government to bypass parliamentary approval to pass legislation, in this case, a contentious social security budget bill.

This move provoked backlash from opposition parties across the political spectrum, including the far-left and far-right, who initiated the no-confidence motion.

Emmanuel Macron appointed Michel Barnier, a member of the right-wing Republican party, as prime minister on September 5. Michel Barnier is the fifth prime minister in Emmanuel Macron’s two presidential terms It was not announced who would succeed him.