French President Macron Refuses To Resign

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

PARIS (Worthy News) – Faced with the most significant political turmoil in years, French President Emmanuel Macron pledged Thursday he would name a new prime minister within “the coming days” but dismissed calls for his resignation.

Macron made the announcement in a dramatic 10-minute address to his nation after Prime Minister Michel Barnier,73, resigned following a no-confidence vote in parliament sparked by a budget row.

Macron rejected opposition pressure to stand down and vowed to stay in his post “fully, until the end of the mandate” in 2027.

He thanked Barnier for his dedication, although he was the shortest-serving prime minister since the 1958 founding of the Fifth Republic, France’s republican system of government.

Macron accused the French far right and hard left of collaborating in an “anti-republican front” to bring down the government.

French legislators voted overwhelmingly to remove Barnier on Wednesday, just three months after Macron appointed the conservative 73-year-old.

The vote was the first time a French government had been voted down by parliament in more than 60 years, a move Macron labeled “unprecedented.”

‘LITTLE REMINDER’

In response, Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Rally (RN), wrote on social media: “A little reminder to President Macron, who is supposed to be the guarantor of the Constitution: censure is not anti-republican, it is provided for in the Constitution of our Fifth Republic.”

The no-conference vote came after he used a constitutional mechanism called Article 49.3 to push through a social security budget bill without a vote, though it opened the door to a no-confidence motion.

Bernier has said the move was needed to realize 60 billion euros ($63.07 billion) in savings to shrink a gaping deficit after a

last-minute concession was insufficient to win support from Le Pen’s influential far-right RN for his budget plans.

The development risked further unsettling investors, who have already pushed up France’s borrowing costs beyond those of countries like Spain and Greece.

Last week, France narrowly escaped a debt downgrade by S&P, with the rating agency saying that “despite ongoing political uncertainty, we expect France to comply — with a delay — with the EU fiscal framework and to gradually consolidate public finances.”

Macron said the new government’s priority will be approving a budget, with a special law submitted to parliament before mid-December to keep the state afloat.

Outgoing ministers warned that the stopgap emergency law could have unintended consequences, including increasing income tax for millions of households.

SUCCESSORS NAMED

Bernard Cazeneuve, 61, a former prime minister and interior minister, has been named among possible successors of Barnier.

Others include Sébastien Lecornu, 38, the youngest defense minister since the French Revolution, and François Bayrou, 73, the former high commissioner for government planning and veteran centrist.

Jean Castex, 59, a former prime minister and current head of the RATP, the state-owned operator of the Paris metro, is also running for the top job.

While Macron could also rename Barnier, the outgoing leader suggested he did not expect that scenario.

Analysts say any new prime minister will face the same political gridlock that brought down Barnier, with far-right and hard-left parties refusing to accept the current budget plans.

Macron did not indicate if the new government should attempt a sharp fiscal adjustment to bring the deficit down to 5 percent of economic output next year from 6.1 percent in 2024.

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