After being named prime minister in early September, Barnier made it clear that 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 worth of 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 in turn gives 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 upon.
“If the no confidence motion passes, everything will be more difficult and more serious,” Barnier said.
The under-fire Prime Minister attempted to get National Rally leader Marine Le Pen and her camp on side 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 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.
