Why is France on the brink of collapse – again? PM loses key confidence vote as economic turmoil deepens

France has lost its third prime minister in 12 months, after François Bayrou lost a crucial confidence vote.

The fall of the minority government brings more political and economic upheaval, less than a year after former prime minister Michel Barnier’s short-lived administration imploded in December.

French president Emmanuel Macron, who will have to choose his fourth prime minister in less than two years, has come under fire over France’s crisis, following a snap election that he called last year.

Why is the confidence vote being held?

In an effort to secure the 2026 budget, Mr Bayrou called for a confidence vote in the hope that it would unite politicians in the sharply fragmented National Assembly, France’s lower and more prominent house of parliament.

“I want to tell you how happy I am that the government will fall today. For many French it’s a relief,” Manuel Bompard, from the left-wing France Unbowed party, told the local radio network France Info.

Bayrou faced major opposition to his budget plan that included €44bn (£38bn) of spending cuts and tax hikes, which he argued were needed to rein in the country’s spiralling deficit and debts.

He had also proposed cutting two public holidays to reduce costs, which ignited national anger.

What happens now?

Mr Bayrou submitted his resignation to Mr Macron, who will either name a new head of government or dissolve the lower house and call early elections.

The French president has so far rejected the idea of renewed snap elections and has repeatedly insisted he will not resign.

If Mr Macron names a new premier, questions remain over how the government will pass the unpopular budget.

Mr Bayrou expressed frustration on Sunday that rivals at opposite ends of the political spectrum in the National Assembly were ganging up against him.

“What’s the point of bringing down the government? These are political groups that not only don’t agree on anything but, far worse than that, are waging open civil war against each other,” he told the French online media outlet Brut.

Why is France’s economy in crisis?

France, the second-largest economy in Europe after Germany, has one of the highest levels of spending in the continent.

Last year, public spending accounted for 57 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), on financing healthcare and welfare including its generous pension and unemployment benefits.

This has led to big deficits and rising national debt, which stands at €3.35trn (£2.9trn) as of the financial year ending March 2025, which equates to almost 114 per cent of its GDP. The UK’s debt is also around £2.9trn, but representing almost 96 per cent of GDP.