Opposition parties across the board have made it clear they will vote against his minority government
\n Paris
\nFrance\u2019s parliament is expected to oust Prime Minister Francois Bayrou on Monday after just nine months in office, plunging the key EU member into new political uncertainty and creating a painful dilemma for President Emmanuel Macron.
\nBayrou blindsided even his allies by calling a confidence vote to end a months-long standoff over his austerity budget, which foresees almost 44 billion euros ($52 billion) of cost savings to reduce France\u00b4s debt pile.
\nOpposition parties across the board have made it clear they will vote against his minority government, making it highly improbable he will get enough backing to survive \u2014 he needs a majority of the 577 MPs in the National Assembly.
\nBayrou will become the second French prime minister in succession to have suffered such a fate after Michel Barnier was ejected in December after only three months in office.
\nBayrou, the sixth prime minister under Macron since 2017, has given no indication in days of TV interviews that he expects to survive the vote.
\nInstead, he has asked: \u201cHas our country understood the seriousness of the situation it finds itself in?\u201d
\nHe is expected to address parliament in a final bid for support from 1300 GMT with the vote awaited from 1700 GMT.
\nPoor polls
\nAfter the vote, Macron will face one of the most critical decisions of his presidency: appointing the seventh prime minister of his mandate to thrash out a compromise, or call snap elections in a bid to have a more accommodating parliament.
\nThe president is spearheading European efforts to end Russia\u00b4s war on Ukraine, boosting his international profile.
\nBut polling at home does not make pretty reading, and he is forbidden from standing a third time in 2027.
\nAccording to a poll by Odoxa-Backbone for Le Figaro newspaper, 64% of French want Macron to resign rather than name a new prime minister, a move he has explicitly ruled out.
\nSome 77% of people do not approve of his work, Macron\u2019s worst-ever such rating, according to an Ifop poll for the Ouest-France daily.
\nAddressing the crisis after an international summit on Ukraine, Macron called on French political forces on Thursday to demonstrate \u201cresponsibility\u201d and ensure \u201cstability\u201d.
\n\u201cThe reshaping of the world is changing many things for our Europe. In this context, France must continue to move forward,\u201d he said.
\nBut alongside political upheavals, France is also facing social tension.
\nA left-wing collective calling itself \u201cBlock Everything\u201d is calling for a day of action on September 10 and trade unions have urged workers to strike on September 18.
\nSleeping giant
\nThere is no guarantee an election would result in any improvement in the fortunes of Macron\u2019s centre-right bloc in parliament.
\nBut there are signs that the president could be eyeing cooperation with the Socialist Party (PS), a one time giant of French politics that has fallen into the doldrums in recent years.
\nAt a meeting on Tuesday of the centrist parties that support him, Macron urged them to \u201cwork with the Socialists\u201d, a participant said, asking not to be named. All those present were opposed to snap elections, the person added.
\nSocialist leader Olivier Faure has made no secret of his readiness to take the post of prime minister, even producing his own draft budget.
\nBut Socialist backing would not automatically attract support from other left-wing forces.
\n\u201cIt would be workable if the Socialist Party says: \u2018We\u2019re overthrowing the alliance and governing with the central bloc,\u2019\u201d said a close associate of Macron, adding that for now the president is keeping his cards close to his chest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Opposition parties across the board have made it clear they will vote against his minority government Paris France\u2019s parliament is expected to oust Prime Minister Francois Bayrou on Monday after just nine months in office, plunging the key EU member into new political uncertainty and creating a painful dilemma for President Emmanuel Macron. Bayrou blindsided […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":501722,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-501683","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n