The fall was expected, but the Bayrou government collapsed. Nearly 20 votes from the "common core," the members of the majority coalition, were missing.
The prime minister asked for a vote of confidence on his budget proposal, which included €44 billion in cuts, two fewer public holidays, and confirmation of the hated pension reform. A tsunami of "no" votes overwhelmed him, 364 against 194 "yes." And now, as Jean-Luc Mélenchon, a tribune of the most radical left, immediately commented, "Macron is on the front lines before the people. And he too must go home." Throughout the opposition's speeches in Parliament, Macron's name resounded as the true culprit behind the crisis and this new "leap into the unknown" for the country.
This is his fourth prime ministership in a year and a half, the third since the snap elections (which the majority lost) last July. This is a complete first for the Fifth Republic, which was born partly chasing the guiding star of stability and ended sixty years later with the exact opposite. This time, faced with the radical left presenting a motion for impeachment tomorrow, the president, favored by polls, is stalling for time at the National Rally, which is urging him to dissolve Parliament and call new elections.
No decisions, no rash statements; this time the ground is crumbling, and the head of the Elysée Palace "acknowledges" Parliament's sovereign decision. He also announces tomorrow morning that Bayrou will resign, and that he will appoint a prime minister "in the coming days." In Parliament, the Socialists, whom Macron had looked to with interest in recent days, were harsh, even ordering his ministers to "work" with the PS: "We are ready to govern," group leader Boris Vallaud said in the chamber, "let the president come to us."
At the moment, the PS project lacks substance, namely votes: the Socialists reiterate that they don't want to govern with Macron's supporters but aim to lead a purely left-wing government. It remains to be seen how Macron's supporters could vote for a government that excludes them, with the Republicans relaunching the slogan, "We are always in opposition with a left-wing government." Among the moderate right, Republican group leader Laurent Wauquiez was one of the least harsh on Bayrou, announcing, among other things, his "not enthusiastic" vote for the government. Ultimately, 27 out of 49 Republican MPs voted in favor of confidence.
Along with the Socialists, they remain the only political groups with which the current majority coalition can engage in dialogue. On the day of the head-on confrontation and the collapse of the government led by a prime minister who didn't even attempt to negotiate his budget, a glimmer of dialogue came from former prime minister and current leader of Macron's Renaissance party, Gabriel Attal. Even before appointing a prime minister, he asked Macron to appoint a "negotiator" to reach a "general interest agreement" among "republican forces": a completely new development at this stage in French history is seeking an agreement before even choosing a prime minister.
"I," Attal said, "am not proposing a government pact or a coalition contract. What I am proposing is an agreement of general interest so that the 18 months ahead will be useful and not one of recurring blockades and public impotence." From the majority benches, Attal called for a "culture of compromise" now forgotten in French politics. Specifically, the "negotiator" would not be the future prime minister, but would be charged with bringing together, starting tomorrow and lasting several weeks, all the leaders of the parties represented in Parliament to find a "budget compromise." The future prime minister would then be "the guarantor of this agreement."
A technician? According to Attal, it would be a figure from the political or trade union world, a "consensual figure capable of bringing political leaders together around the table with his name." It would be a temporary agreement, which would subsequently give rise to a sort of "government with a specific purpose," whose primary and most urgent mission would be "to reach a budget for 2026." In Paris, after the tsunami that overwhelmed Bayrou, there is much talk of a "negotiator," with some of the most popular analysts agreeing: "He must not be part of the coalition that supported the recently fallen government." Meanwhile, the country is waiting while the long-awaited "Block Everything" demonstration is scheduled for Wednesday, a movement born online and already dubbed the new yellow vests. This protest, the full details of which are yet to be revealed, is causing security concerns. The Interior Minister has already predicted a monstrous deployment, with 80,000 officers who "will not tolerate any blockade."
(Unioneonline)