French Parliament Ousts Prime Minister Once Again, Continuing Serious Political Crisis

The French National Assembly voted to oust the current Prime Minister after a no confidence vote yesterday, forcing the country deeper into their already-concerning political trouble.

The no confidence vote, taken yesterday, saw 364 Members of Parliament (MPs) vote against Prime Minister François Bayrou, while a mere 194 MPs voted in his favor.

The vote to oust Bayrou came as the Prime Minister announced a massive bill to halt all government spending and cut two public holidays, which was unpopular but saved the French government over €44 billion ($51 billion). He called the vote to enforce support for the bill, but the vote went against him, meaning that he will be forced to resign from his position.

Now, French President Emmanuel Macron will be forced to choose his third Prime Minister in one year, displaying the country's serious political instability crisis. But how did they get here?

Last year, their economy began showing signs of a downturn, with the country's debt and budget deficit increasing at dangerous levels. Macron scrambled to fix the issues while preventing a recession, but those efforts proved unsatisfactory.

Then, Macron took the entire country by surprise after calling for snap parliamentary elections to reinforce the support for his party. However, his plan backfired, allowing other parties to gain significant support during the same time period, but a new prime minister came into office: Michel Barnier.

Nevertheless, with their newfound power, Macron's opposition parties came together to oust Barnier in December, making his three-month term the shortest in French history. This forced Macron to choose Bayrou as his next prime minister– a man with great experience in political positions, and he held similar views to Macron.

He has taken a more aggressive approach to bringing down their national debt, which has soared to unprecedented levels: France's current budget deficit stands at around €169 billion ($199 billion), which is around 5.8% of their total GDP. By comparison, the limit imposed by the eurozone – the region of Europe that utilizes the euro as their currency – is 3%. Furthermore, the national debt now stands at €3.35 trillion, which is around 116% of their GDP, making them one of the most indebted nations in the eurozone. This is primarily due to their staggering spending over the last five years, the majority of which was due to dealing with the coronavirus pandemic and protecting the country from an energy crisis after the Russia-Ukraine War.

As investing in France becomes riskier and riskier, interest rates are rising as well, forcing the nation to pay even more– in 2020, France spent €26 billion on interest. This year, that number is projected to be as high as €66 billion, displaying a drastic uptick in interest payments.

Meanwhile, Macron also cut taxes during the same time period, focusing on the reduction of taxes for the rich to allow for more foreign investments into the country's economy. While this has allowed for more investment, it has also led to a loss of over €50 billion ($59 billion) in tax revenue.

Despite these factors, the French National Assembly decided yesterday that Bayrou and his new government have not done enough to help France escape their financial troubles, ousting him in yet another no confidence vote. Now, Macron will need to choose another prime minister, but there are only so many options for him to choose from, and the country's crisis is only getting worse.

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Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): The struggles we endure today will be the ‘good old days’ we laugh about tomorrow. (Aaron Lauritsen)

Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Sanguine (adj, SANG-gwin) - Sanguine is a formal word that today almost always describes someone who is confident and hopeful, or something that shows confidence and hopefulness. Sanguine can also describe something that is bloodred in color, something involving or relating to bloodshed, or a person’s reddish complexion.

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