‘New era’: Macron to name next PM in coming days

French President Emmanuel Macron has vowed to name a new prime minister while rejecting calls to resign after the PM was ousted from government.

French President Emmanuel Macron has vowed to name a new prime minister in “coming days” after the leader was ousted in a no-confidence vote just three months into office.

Michel Barnier, France’s shortest-serving prime minister, has submitted his resignation after the National Assembly lower house voted to topple the incumbent government for the first time in more than 60 years on Wednesday.

Addressing the nation in a televised address on Thursday, Macron said France cannot afford to be “static” and rejected calls from opponents to resign, saying he would remain president “fully, until the end of the mandate” in 2027.

“I will appoint a prime minister in the coming days,” he said, adding this person would be charged with forming a “government of general interest” with a priority of passing a budget.

Defiantly rejecting resignation calls, Macron added: “The mandate that you gave to me democratically (in 2022 elections) is a five-year mandate and I will exercise it fully, right up to the end.”

“Today a new era begins”, he said. “We need to work together for France.”

French President Emmanuel Macron addressed the nation during a televised broadcast on Thursday. Picture: Ludovic Marin/AFP

The president said the far-right National Rally (RN) of Marine Le Pen had its eyes on the 2027 presidential elections, accusing the party of seeking to sow “chaos”.

“They are not thinking about your lives, let’s be honest. They are thinking of just one thing — the presidential election,” said Macron, who must step down at the end of his term.

But he admitted his decision to call snap parliamentary elections this summer, which resulted in a hung parliament, “was not understood”.

“Many have blamed me for it and I know, many continue to blame me. It’s a fact and it’s my responsibility,” he said.

Marcon concluded his speech, appealing for unity as the nation rebuilds.

“Where the country is vulnerable it needs to be rebuilt,” he said. “Wherever there is poor behaviour, we need to reintroduce wisdom, and wherever there is room for anxiety and despair, we need to bring hope.”

“We have done it, and we will continue to show that to the world.”

French Prime Minister Michel Barnier was ousted following a no-confidence vote. Picture: Alain Jocard/AFP

‘Macron alone’

A majority of lawmakers on Wednesday supported the no-confidence vote proposed by the hard left and backed by the far right headed by Marine Le Pen.

Barnier’s ejection in record time comes after snap parliamentary elections in June resulted in a hung parliament. No political force was able to form an overall majority and the far right held the key to the government’s survival.

The trigger for Barnier’s ouster was his 2025 budget plan including austerity measures unacceptable to a majority in parliament, but which he argued were necessary to stabilise France’s finances.

On Monday he forced through a social security financing bill without a vote, but the ousting of the government means France is still without a budget.

“Macron alone in the face of an unprecedented political crisis,” said French newspaper Le Monde in its headline.

“France probably won’t have a 2025 budget,” said ING Economics in a note, predicting that the country “is entering a new era of political instability”.

Barnier lasted just three months in office. Picture: Alain Jocard/AFP

Moody’s, a ratings agency, warned that Barnier’s fall “deepens the country’s political stalemate” and “reduces the probability of a consolidation of public finances”.

The Paris stock exchange fell at the opening on Thursday before recovering to show small gains. Yields on French government bonds were again under pressure in debt markets.

Strike calls across transport, education and other public sector services were maintained on Thursday despite the disappearance of the austerity budget that has prompted anger.

Calls for Macron to resign

New legislative elections cannot be called until a year after the previous ones in summer 2024. But while Macron has more than two years of his presidential term left, some opponents are calling on him to resign to break the deadlock.

“We are now calling on Macron to go,” said Mathilde Panot, head of the parliamentary faction of the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party, urging “early presidential elections”.

Barnier is the fifth prime minister to serve under Macron since he came to power in 2017. Each successive premier has served for a shorter period and, given the composition of the National Assembly, there is no guarantee that Barnier’s successor would last any longer.