Right-wing French politicians refuse to support a compromise agreement intended to preserve the administration led by Prime Minister Bayrou.
Francois Bayrou, leader of the centrist MoDem party, is gearing up for a crucial confidence vote on September 8, which could determine the future of his premiership and potentially lead to early elections in France.
Bayrou has been trying to break the political deadlock in the country by hosting party leaders for talks from Monday. However, his decision to postpone these discussions over the summer has not been well-received, with Sébastien Chenu, the deputy leader of the National Rally, criticising the move as disturbing coming from someone who has been in politics for 50 years.
The main focus of Bayrou's talks will be on reducing France's debt, a issue he has emphasised as crucial. He argues that the debt has built up over the years "for the sake of the comfort of the boomers" of the post-war generation. Bayrou is ready to start negotiations on the condition that parties commit to savings measures to reduce France's debt.
However, the government's plan to slash spending in the budget has faced opposition from the far right and left-wing parties, who have pledged not to back Bayrou. Analysts suggest that his premiership is likely to be doomed if he fails to win the support of these parties.
The National Rally, the main French far-right party, has already rejected a compromise with Prime Minister Bayrou over the budget. A broad anti-austerity campaign called "Bloquons tout" is gaining momentum, urging the French to stage a nationwide shutdown on September 10, which could further complicate matters.
If Bayrou loses the confidence vote, he must resign along with his entire government. President Emmanuel Macron could then reappoint Francois Bayrou as premier or choose a new figure as his seventh premier since 2017, depending on political negotiations. Multiple opinion polls following Bayrou's announcement found that the majority of French people support new legislative elections.
Bayrou himself is not optimistic about winning the confidence vote, stating: "Today, a priori, we cannot obtain this confidence (from parliament) but we know that there has not been a majority for a long time." Alternatively, snap elections, according to Bayrou, would not help restore stability after the last elections in summer 2024 left the National Rally as the largest single party in parliament.
As France waits for the outcome of the confidence vote, the political landscape remains uncertain.
