French President Emmanuel Macron will accept the resignation of Prime Minister François Bayrou on Tuesday after he was ousted in a confidence vote on Monday.
Bayrou suffered a major defeat in the confidence motion he had called, creating uncertainty in French politics and leaving Macron with the task of finding a new prime minister for his mandate.
The office of the French president, in a statement on Monday, said it “took note” of the outcome and would name a new premier “in the coming days”, ending any remaining speculation that the president might instead call snap elections.
“Macron will meet the prime minister today and accept the resignation of his government,” the statement added.
Also Read : French parliament set to oust PM François Bayrou
While brushing aside speculation about who the next prime minister might be, the French presidency said the new name could be announced as early as Tuesday.
Bayrou had blindsided even his allies by calling the confidence vote to end a lengthy standoff over his austerity budget, which foresaw almost €44 billion (£37 billion) of cost savings to reduce France’s debt.
Bayrou had expected overwhelming support for the confidence vote from lawmakers, yet he faced 364 votes against and only 194 in favour of his government.
“In line with Article 50 of the constitution, the prime minister must resign from his government,” said Speaker Yaël Braun-Pivet.
Bayrou became the sixth prime minister under Macron’s presidency since 2017 to suffer defeat in a no-confidence motion.
Macron “will move rapidly to replace Bayrou,” said the Eurasia Group risk analysis firm. “Macron, who usually prefers to take his time, hopes to announce a new prime minister this week to head off a full-scale market and constitutional crisis.”
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