'French have had enough': Barnier govt on brink of collapse as Opposition backs no-confidence motion against PM

The French government is certain to collapse later this week, as both far-right and left-wing parties have announced their support for a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Michel Barnier.

In response, investors swiftly sold off French stocks and bonds, pushing the euro zone’s second-largest economy further into political turmoil.

“The French have had enough,” Reuters quoted National Rally (RN) leader Marine Le Pen as telling reporters in parliament, saying her party would put forward its own no-confidence motion and will also vote for any similar bill by other parties.

The left will also propose a similar motion.

“Maybe (voters) thought with Michel Barnier things would get better, but it got even worse,” added Le Pen.

Unless there is a last-minute turn of events, Barnier’s fragile coalition will become the first French government to be ousted by a no-confidence vote since 1962.

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A government collapse would create a void at the heart of Europe, with Germany also in election mode, just weeks before Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

According to Reuters, RN lawmakers and the left now have enough votes to remove Barnier and have 24 hours to submit their no-confidence motions.

The remarks came after Barnier announced on Monday that he would attempt to push a social security bill through parliament without a vote, after a last-minute concession failed to secure RN’s support for the bill.

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In the aftermath, French stocks reversed their gains, while the euro faced a sell-off, and bond yields rose.

The CAC 40 index fell by 0.6%, after earlier rising 0.6% following Barnier’s concessions. The euro dropped 1%, heading for its largest one-day decline since early November. The yield on French 10-year government bonds increased by 2.7 basis points to 2.923%, up from a session low of 2.861%.

‘Chaos’

Mathilde Panot of the left-wing France Unbowed, said: “Faced with this umpteenth denial of democracy, we will censure the government … We are living in political chaos because of Michel Barnier’s government and Emmanuel Macron’s presidency.”

Barnier urged lawmakers not to back the no-confidence vote.

“We are at a moment of truth … The French will not forgive us for putting the interests of individuals before the future of the country,” he said as he put his government’s fate in the hands of the divided parliament which was the result of an inconclusive snap election Macron called in June.

Since it was formed in September, Barnier’s minority government has relied on RN support for its survival. The budget bill, which seeks to rein in France’s spiraling public deficit through 60 billion euros ($63 billion) in tax hikes and spending cuts, snapped that tenuous link.

Barnier’s entourage and Le Pen’s camp each blamed the other and said they had done all they could to reach a deal and had been open to dialogue.

A source close to Barnier said the prime minister had made major concessions to Le Pen and that voting to bring down the government would mean losing those gains.

“Is she ready to sacrifice all the wins she got?” the source close to Barnier told Reuters.

With inputs from agencies