French PM Michel Barnier submits resignation to Macron

French Prime Minister Michel Barnier arrived at the Elysee Palace on Thursday to hand in his government’s resignation to President Emmanuel Macron after the government was overturned by a parliamentary no-confidence vote a day earlier.

On Wednesday evening, a total of 331 deputies of the French National Assembly, mostly from the left-wing parties alliance New Popular Front and the far-right party National Rally, voted in favour of a no-confidence vote, forcing Barnier to resign and his government to collapse.

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Lacking a majority in the National Assembly, Barnier on Monday forced through a social security budget for 2025 without a vote, which triggered the parliamentary censure, Xinhua news agency reported.

Appointed three months ago, Barnier could become the most ephemeral prime minister. Before him, parliamentary censure had only been used in 1962 against the government of Georges Pompidou.