But none of that has proved enough. She wants more.
So, barring any last-minute surprises, Barnier and his government, having only been in power for three months, will on Wednesday fall victim to a no-confidence vote and earn the dubious distinction of serving the shortest term in the history of the modern French republic, which was established in 1958.
The French system works in two layers, with the government and prime minister controlling domestic day-to-day affairs and the president having a powerful, overarching role. This is the prize Le Pen hankers after —she’s run run unsuccessfully for it on three occasions and plans to take another shot in 2027.
The no-confidence vote has arisen over the government’s failure to convince Le Pen to back a budget that would have injected €60 billion into state coffers through tax hikes and spending cuts to address France’s spiraling deficit. Despite a series of concessions to address her concerns, Barnier’s team believes she repeatedly moved the goalposts.
Her interest was to making French politics more chaotic, they think.
Leaving France without a government would, after all, trigger a political crisis, expose the country to financial turmoil and potentially pave the way for a new prime minister who could be even less favorable to her party.
“Le Pen’s conditions were constantly changing,” as they discussed the budget proposal, said a conservative member of Barnier’s government, who was granted anonymity because of the politically sensitive nature of the discussions. “Sunday, she gave a 17th different version of what her conditions were. The prime minister responded Monday, and once again, that wasn’t enough.”
