A bid to claw back France’s spiralling levels of public debt dominated prime minister François Bayrou’s rocky nine months in office. Photograph: Joel Saget/AFP/GettyAnother French government has effectively collapsed after prime minister François Bayrou lost a confidence vote in parliament, compounding the political crisis facing Europe’s second-largest economy. Bayrou will be the second prime minister to resign in less than a year, after failing to get a tough-love budget past parliament. French prime minister François Bayrou (left) and president Emmanuel Macron attend a farewell-to-arms ceremony earlier this month. The trick might be picking a prime minister who could earn the support of the Socialists, without being so left-leaning that they cause the Republicans to withdraw their backing.

Source: The Irish Times September 09, 2025 05:51 UTC