PARIS — French Prime Minister Michel Barnier opened the door for opposition parties to attempt to topple his government — probably on Wednesday — by announcing he will not submit his social security budget to a vote.
Barnier and Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally have been engaged in an increasingly high-stakes battle over the issue, which could see the prime minister fall as early as the end of this week.
“The French are asking for and expect stability,” Barnier told lawmakers on Monday afternoon. “Everyone must take responsibility, and I take mine.”
Under the French constitution, the government can pass legislation without parliamentary approval. Because he has now done this on the budget, lawmakers can call a motion of no confidence. If it’s successful it would reject the legislation and forces the government’s resignation.
A motion of no confidence will likely happen on Wednesday. The government would then serve in a caretaker capacity until a new administration is appointed.
Kingmaker role
The pan-left New Popular Front coalition had already pledged to immediately put forward such a motion. To succeed, it would require not only support from the left but also votes from the far right. And Marine Le Pen’s National Rally said shortly after Barnier’s announcement that it would join forces with the rest of the opposition.
Initially Le Pen’s party was willing to play a kingmaker role, allowing Barnier to stay in power in exchange for certain concessions. But the French far-right powerhouse then showed it was willing to turn on the 73-year-old head of government, which it accused of not having taken its concerns seriously.
The National Rally president, Jordan Bardella, warned Monday morning that it would take “a last-minute miracle” to change the party’s mind on voting against the government.
For a few hours on Monday it looked as though such a miracle may have come in the shape of a statement from the prime minister’s office. Barnier had given in to a key request from the far-right party, pledging that the government would not stop reimbursing patients for certain types of drugs.
Many demands
Barnier had already made significant concessions to the far right — by agreeing to restrict access to public health care for undocumented immigrants — but had not publicly credited the National Rally for these changes, to Le Pen’s dismay.
This time, however, the prime minister name-dropped the far-right party and its presidential candidate: “Many demands were made on this issue. Mrs. Marine Le Pen, representing the National Rally, reminded the prime minister of this during a phone conversation [Monday morning]. The government pledges not to stop reimbursing drugs in 2025.
Still, that doesn’t appear to be enough for Le Pen, who is now asking that the government make yet another costly concession by implementing a full inflation-based adjustment of pensions on Jan. 1. “It’s the government’s decision to accept it or not,” Le Pen said after the prime minister’s office’s statement.
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