French Prime Minister Michel Barnier handed in his resignation request this Thursday morning (5) to President Emmanuel Macron, who asked him to remain in office until a new prime minister is appointed.
His departure from office comes after Barnier lost the vote of no confidence in the French Parliament, by 331 votes — out of a total of 577.
Barnier, who had been in power since September, became the shortest-serving prime minister in the country’s history. No government has been deposed in a vote of no confidence in the country since 1962.
Understand what happened
On Monday (2), the Prime Minister tried to force the approval of part of the government’s Budget for 2025.
The bill includes measures to fill the huge hole in France’s public finances and bring the deficit back in line with European Union rules by the end of the decade.
The proposed financing law includes 60 billion euros in tax increases and spending cuts, aiming to reduce the deficit to 5% next year, according to government calculations.
Some of the measures are extremely unpopular with opposition parties, such as delaying inflation-matched pension increases.
Barnier attempted to pass the Budget using a controversial constitutional mechanism that bypassed a vote in the legislature.
However, this maneuver gave parliamentarians the opportunity to present motions of no confidence against him.
This content was originally published in Prime Minister of France resigns on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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