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Fran？ois Bayrou is set to resign as the French prime minister after he lost a vote of confidence, plunging the country into further political turmoil.
French president Emmanuel Macron will now have to choose between appointing a fifth prime minister in less than two years or calling a new parliamentary election.
Mr Macron has indicated he wants to avoid another election and has dismissed suggestions he should resign.
By calling a vote of confidence on 25 August, Mr Bayrou had hoped it would rally support for his €44bn (￡38bn) austerity plan for 2026. The opposition, however, regarded Monday’s vote as a referendum on whether Mr Bayrou should remain as prime minister.
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Mr Bayrou addresses the National Assembly ahead of the vote(AP)
Mr Bayrou held the position as head of government for just under nine months, three times as long as his predecessor, Michel Barnier, who was ousted in record time after losing a no-confidence vote last December.
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A close ally of Mr Macron’s and a politician with decades of experience, Mr Bayrou, 74, implored the National Assembly moments before the vote on Monday to back his budget, saying France’s debts were “submerging us”.
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"You have the power to bring down the government, but you do not have the power to erase reality,” he said.
“Reality will remain relentless: expenses will continue to rise, and the burden of debt, already unbearable, will grow heavier and more costly.”
Mr Macron has been weathering the blame for France’s political crisis, after he called a surprise snap election last year that resulted in a deadlocked parliament, where no single party secured a clear majority, leaving the far-right in a pivotal position to influence the government's stability.
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Mr Bayrou was appointed by French president Emmanuel Macron in December(AFP via Getty Images)
If Mr Macron appoints a new premier, questions remain over how the minority government will pass the unpopular budget.
Boris Vallaud, the head of the French Socialist Party, said his party is ready to govern if Mr Macron asks them to do so. “We are ready if he comes to search for us," he told the National Assembly before the vote.
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France has one of the highest levels of spending in Europe. Last year, public spending accounted for 57 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), on financing healthcare and welfare including its generous pension and unemployment benefits.
This has led to big deficits and rising national debt, which stands at €3.35trn (￡2.9trn) as of the financial year ending March 2025, which equates to almost 114 per cent of its GDP. By comparison, the UK’s debt is ￡2.9trn, representing almost 96 per cent of GDP.