Barnier’s government, which lasted just under three months, collapsed following the conservative grandee’s attempt to push through an austere budget meant to reassure investors and bring down France’s ballooning deficit.
The political chaos, and the dim prospects of an immediate resolution, has led a growing number of lawmakers to demand the resignation of the French president, whose term lasts until 2027.
During an interview shortly after Macron’s speech, far-left firebrand Jean-Luc Mélenchon said the French president’s days were numbered and that Macron was “the cause of the problem.”
“Events will force him out,” Mélenchon said.
Macron, in his address, made it clear he was planning to stay, hammering home that he was “democratically elected” and intends to rule “fully” to the end of his term.
“My responsibility is to make sure our institutions work … and to protect everyone. I have been by your side since the beginning, through social upheaval, the Covid epidemic and the return of war [to Europe],” he said.
