After being named prime minister in early September, Barnier said his priority was to bring down France’s budget deficit and get the country’s finances in order. To do so, he proposed a budget with €60 billion in combined tax hikes and spending cuts.
Barnier attempted to pass part of the French budget using a constitutional backdoor that allowed him to enact legislation without a vote, but that in turn gave lawmakers the opportunity to put forward no-confidence motions.
Should the government fall, France will have to resort to emergency stopgap mechanisms for 2025 until a budget is agreed.
“If the no-confidence motion passes, everything will be more difficult and more serious,” Barnier said.
The embattled prime minister attempted to get National Rally leader Marine Le Pen and her camp onside by agreeing to several concessions to appease them, none of which appear to have worked.
Shortly before Barnier’s interview, French media reported that President Emmanuel Macron “does not believe” the government will fall and had dismissed growing calls for his resignation from politicians across the political spectrum.
Speaking to reporters while on a visit to Saudi Arabia, Macron criticized the National Rally for being “unbearably cynical” and accused the Socialists, the most centrist party of the New Popular Front, of having “lost their bearings” by voting to topple the Barnier government.
