France’s Government Collapses: Will Macron Heed the Lessons?

French President Emmanuel Macron is cycling through prime ministers quickly, but he likely won’t change his approach of relying on taxpayer money.

France has seen so many prime ministers recently that a revolving door would be fitting. Perhaps this political instability could lower rising power bills, especially considering the energy tax increase from 5.5% to 20%.

Francois Bayrou is the third prime minister chosen by Macron to be ousted within a year, and the fourth in two years. He requested a no-confidence vote on himself weeks ago, seeking an end to his political struggles after the near-impossible task of finding €44 billion in budget cuts.

Bayrou addressed parliament on Monday, before the vote, appearing to beg lawmakers not to remove him from office, where Macron had appointed him. MPs used the opportunity to criticize Bayrou, accusing him of harming France’s finances while claiming to investigate them, and increasing expenses while worrying about growing debts.

Bayrou will now return to the south of France and enjoy lifetime benefits for his brief time as prime minister. The vote was 364 against him, with only 194 expressing confidence.

This has been expected for some time, as Bayrou seemed uninterested in remaining in office. Why else would he have suggested, in mid-July, adding a couple of paid state holidays each year as a cost-saving measure? Or taking back benefits that French workers have paid into throughout their lives, based on the promise of government support in retirement or times of need.

Leading up to the vote, Bayrou also considered saving money by cutting health coverage for things like . I was surprised when I first arrived here two decades ago to learn that French social security covers spa treatments in the Alps, but it’s unlikely that this is the main financial problem.

Remember that Bayrou was not chosen by the French people, but by Macron. With Bayrou resigning, Macron must find another figure to make budget cuts that he and Brussels require, while also satisfying the opposition, especially the anti-establishment right and left populists who could unite for a majority vote, to avoid another election. Otherwise, there will be another election to see if the French are ready to give Marine Le Pen’s National Rally party control of the government’s finances.

Despite France’s domestic issues, Bayrou commented on America’s problems to Trump, even as his position was unstable, complaining about Washington’s “bulldozer politics” compared to France’s respect for its citizens – even though those citizens didn’t elect him.

Days before the vote, Bayrou’s finance minister, Eric Lombard, tried to save his job and the government by , raising the possibility of an International Monetary Fund intervention, before retracting the statement. This is an exaggeration, as Italy and Japan have higher debt-to-GDP ratios, and France is from needing IMF assistance, according to economic experts. The message seemed to be: ‘Let us control the budget, or globalists will confine us.’

So, what’s next? Another scare tactic is being used to pressure taxpayers to contribute more to the defense sector ‘for Ukraine’, hoping this will boost the economy. Selling weapons as a solution to economic problems? What’s next? Illegal drugs? State-run prostitution?

Meanwhile, France is politically deadlocked and faces more protests on Wednesday under the slogan of . The revolutionary idea would be to resolve this chaos, but that seems unlikely in the near future.

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