French Prime Minister Michel Barnier pictured today (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Michel Barnier has failed, regardless of the result of this afternoon’s crunch no confidence vote, while Emmanuel Macron should resign as President after a series of ‘catastrophic’ decisions which has triggered a full-blown crisis, a French MEP and prominent critic has said
And Nicolas Bay has said the French establishment is failing to understand a rising tide of resentment which manifested itself most recently in massive protests in Paris this week – while warning Mr Macron, who is currently in Saudi Arabia, was playing a “dangerous game”.
France faces significant political turmoil today, as Prime Minister Michel Barnier is expected to lose a no-confidence vote in parliament.
President Emmanuel Macron is grappling with the challenge of selecting a suitable replacement in the face of growing discontent from both left-wing and far-right factions.
The crisis stems from Mr Barnier’s proposed austerity measures, including £33 billion (€40 billion) in spending cuts and £16.5 billion (€20 billion) in tax increases, designed to rein in France’s soaring deficit.
READ MORE: Michel Barnier’s potential replacements as Macron’s government on brink
French President Emmanuel Macron visits the archaeological site of al-Hijr in Saudi Arabia (Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
The measures have alienated lawmakers across the spectrum, who argue they unfairly target vulnerable populations while failing to address systemic inefficiencies.
Mr Bay, a prominent member of the recently launched right-wing party Identity Libertes known for his nationalist stance, and who is strongly opposing EU integration, told the Express: “There is no leadership.
“Michel Barnier was chosen by default, with the hope of building a consensus in the continuity of what Macron has always done since the current government has simply broadened its centrist base by incorporating some of the Republicans and Socialists.”
Mr Barnier’s main task was to prepare a balanced budget, cutting spending without exploding taxes, and he had been unsuccessful, Mr Bay stressed.
He emphasised: “Barnier is a man of the centre-right. He has qualities, he can be tough – you know it well with the Brexit negotiations – and his government includes some interesting profiles, such as Bruno Retailleau, Minister of the Interior.
French MEP Nicolas Bay (Image: Getty)
“This government could therefore have proposed needed reforms… if it had chosen to govern with the right. But Barnier ended discussions with the Rassemblement National of Marine Le Pen and its allies, so it is almost certain that the vote of no confidence will take the government down and it would be legitimate.”
While Mr Barnier could at least offer excuses, there were no plausible ones open to Mr Macron, Mr Bay emphasised.
He said: “He is at the root of the situation of institutional instability in which France finds itself today. The dissolution of the National Assembly in June was a catastrophic decision.
“Macron’s strategy remains a mystery; his own camp struggles to understand it and no longer trusts him.
“He therefore finds himself deprived of legitimacy because he has been disavowed, by his own doing, twice in a row at the ballot box, in the European elections and in these snap legislative elections.”
Nicolas Bay criticised Mr Macron for refusing to engage with RN’s Marine Le Pen (Image: Getty)
France was going through an “institutional and democratic crisis” to which there is only one obvious response, Mr Bay argued, namely the introduction of proportional representation for the parliamentary elections and Macron’s resignation, Mr Bay continued.
He continued: “The French have repeatedly sent the same message: they’ve had enough of the unbearable tax burden that continues to crush the middle class and stifle our businesses’ competitiveness; enough of the wokeism that is undermining our children’s education – which has been in very bad shape for years already; enough, last but not least, of mass immigration and its consequences of insecurity, impoverishment and Islamisation of our country.
“This is the message they sent again during the European elections. That explains the steadily rising scores of the RN and its allies, including our Identity Libertes party, in recent elections.
“But Macron and the pseudo-elite he embodies are a bunch of ‘progressive’, post-national urbanites who are incapable of listening to the French.
“Macron has played an extremely dangerous game by allowing his lieutenants, including former Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, call for support to the radical far-left in the snap elections, even forcing their own centrist candidates to withdraw to let far-left dangerous people get elected, and now they have many MPs.”
Taxi drivers brought Paris to a standstill this week (Image: Getty)
The potential fall of Mr Barnier’s government has highlighted broader splits in Macron’s administration.
The President has increasingly relied on Article 49.3 of the French Constitution to push through contentious legislation, bypassing parliamentary approval but leaving his government vulnerable to no-confidence motions.
With public dissatisfaction surging, Mr Macron’s next choice for Prime Minister will be critical in determining whether his administration can regain the confidence of the legislature and the public.
It is a decision which is likely to shape the trajectory of Macron’s final term in office.
