French President Emmanuel Macron is to address the nation following the resignation of ousted Prime Minister Michel Barnier. Macron’s speech comes one day after a historic no-confidence vote at the National Assembly left France without a functioning government.
By TOM NOUVIAN and SYLVIE CORBET
PARIS French President Emmanuel Macron will address the nation Thursday following the resignation of ousted Prime Minister Michel Barnier, a day after a historic no-confidence vote at the National Assembly left France without a functioning government.
Macron “took note” of Barnier’s resignation, the Elysee presidential palace said in a statement. Barnier and other ministers will be “in charge of current affairs until the appointment of a new government,” the statement said.
Macron is expected to focus on stabilizing the political crisis in his speech, though it is unclear when he will name a new prime minister to navigate the fractured parliament.
The no-confidence motion passed by 331 votes in the National Assembly, forcing Barnier to step down after just three months in office—the shortest tenure of any prime minister in modern French history.
Macron faces the critical task of naming a replacement capable of leading a minority government in a parliament where no party holds a majority.
