12-04-2024, 07:41 PM
USA not alone in being seriously messed up.
French government toppled after losing no-confidence vote
https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2...urope-live
The minority government of Michel Barnier has been brought down by a no-confidence vote after his decision to push the social security component of the 2025 budget through parliament without a vote.
Barnier’s administration, the shortest-lived in the history of France’s Fifth Republic that began in 1958, is the first to be ousted by a motion of no confidence since Georges Pompidou’s in 1962.
The vote plunges France, a key EU member state, into deeper political crisis at a time when Germany is also mired in an election campaign until February and weeks before Donald Trump returns to the White House.
The debacle stems from President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to dissolve parliament in June. July’s snap election returned a parliament divided into three main blocs, none with a majority.
The New Popular Front (NFP), an alliance of left-leaning parties that has the most seats in parliament, tabled a no confidence motion that was backed by the far right National Rally (RN), the largest single party.
That gave the opposition parties comfortably more than the 288 votes they needed to bring thegovernment down. In the end, 331 voted in favour of the no-confidence motion.
Barnier is now obliged to tender his resignation and that of his government to Macron, who may ask him to stay on in a caretaker capacity or try to appoint a new prime minister.
A caretaker government should be able to roll over the 2024 budget to ensure the government is not forced to shut down, but with no fresh elections permitted until July 2025 and parliament more bitterly divided than ever, the prospects for achieving a stable government look slim.
French government toppled after losing no-confidence vote
https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2...urope-live
The minority government of Michel Barnier has been brought down by a no-confidence vote after his decision to push the social security component of the 2025 budget through parliament without a vote.
Barnier’s administration, the shortest-lived in the history of France’s Fifth Republic that began in 1958, is the first to be ousted by a motion of no confidence since Georges Pompidou’s in 1962.
The vote plunges France, a key EU member state, into deeper political crisis at a time when Germany is also mired in an election campaign until February and weeks before Donald Trump returns to the White House.
The debacle stems from President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to dissolve parliament in June. July’s snap election returned a parliament divided into three main blocs, none with a majority.
The New Popular Front (NFP), an alliance of left-leaning parties that has the most seats in parliament, tabled a no confidence motion that was backed by the far right National Rally (RN), the largest single party.
That gave the opposition parties comfortably more than the 288 votes they needed to bring thegovernment down. In the end, 331 voted in favour of the no-confidence motion.
Barnier is now obliged to tender his resignation and that of his government to Macron, who may ask him to stay on in a caretaker capacity or try to appoint a new prime minister.
A caretaker government should be able to roll over the 2024 budget to ensure the government is not forced to shut down, but with no fresh elections permitted until July 2025 and parliament more bitterly divided than ever, the prospects for achieving a stable government look slim.
