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French government collapses in no-confidence vote
The French government has collapsed after Prime Minister Michel Barnier was ousted in a no-confidence vote.
MPs voted overwhelmingly in support of the motion against him – just three months after he was appointed by President Emmanuel Macron.
Opposition parties had tabled the motion after the former Brexit negotiator controversially used special powers to force through his budget without a vote.
It marks the first time the country’s government has collapsed in a no-confidence vote since 1962. The development will further France’s political instability, after snap elections in summer led to no single group having a majority in parliament.
MPs were required to either vote yes or abstain from Wednesday’s vote, with 288 votes needed for the motion to pass. A total of 331 voted in support of the motion.
Barnier is now obliged to present the resignation of his government, and the budget which triggered his downfall is defunct.
However, he is likely to stay on as caretaker prime minister while Macron chooses a successor.
Both the left and far right had tabled motions of no-confidence after Barnier pushed through reforms to social security by invoking presidential decree on Monday, after failing to win enough support for the measures.
The left-wing alliance New Popular Front (NFP), which won the most seats in the parliamentary elections, had previously criticised Macron’s decission to appoint centrist Barnier as prime minister over its own candidate.
Alongside the far right National Rally [RN] it deemed Barnier’s budget – which included €60bn (£49bn) in deficit reduction – unacceptable.
Marine Le Pen, the RN leader, said the budget was “toxic for the French”.
Ahead of the vote, Barnier told the National Assembly that voting him out of office would not solve the country’s financial problems. “We have reached a moment of truth, of responsibility,” he said, adding that “we need to look at the realities of our debt”. “It is not a pleasure that I propose difficult measures.”
In an interview with French broadcaster TF1 on Wednesday, Le Pen said there was “no other solution” than to remove Barnier.
Asked about the French president’s prospects, she replied: “I am not asking for the resignation of Emmanuel Macron.”
However, Le Pen added that “if we do not respect the voice of voters and show respect for political forces and respect for elections”, then pressure on the president will “obviously be stronger and stronger”.
Macron, who has returned to France following a state visit to Saudi Arabia, is due to give a televised speech to the nation on Thursday evening. He is not directly affected by the result of the vote, as France votes for its president separately from its government.
Macron had said he would not resign whatever the outcome of Wednesday’s vote.
He is expected to name a new prime minister swiftly to avoid the embarrassment of a non-existent government – not least because US President-elect Donald Trump is due in Paris this weekend for the reopening of the Notre-Dame cathedral.
No new parliamentary elections can be held until July, so the current deadlock in the Assembly – where no group can hope to have a working majority – is set to continue.
[BBC]
Latest News
President Trump says the US has ‘captured’ Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife and flown them out of the country
President Donald Trump says the United States has ‘captured’ Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife and flown them out of the country after “large-scale” strikes.
Earlier, Venezuela’s government accused the US of attacking civilian and military installations in multiple states, as it rejected “military aggression” by Washington. The government of President Maduro had declared a national emergency following the series of attacks.
The attacks came after months of tension with the US, which has accused Venezuelan President Maduro of being involved in drug trafficking. Maduro has denied the accusations.
On Thursday, Maduro indicated he was open to negotiating a deal with the US to combat drug trafficking. The US has carried out more than 20 air strikes in the sea near Venezuela since September, as it slapped sanctions and upped military pressure on Caracas.
(Aljazeera)
The United States Coast Guard has said it has suspended its search for survivors days after the US military said it struck two more boats in the eastern Pacific amid its ongoing military campaign in waters in and around Venezuela.
In a statement shared on its website on Friday, the Coast Guard said the three-day search had been focused on water “approximately 400 nautical miles [about 740km] southwest of the Mexico/Guatemala border” and had continued for more than 65 hours, but that no sightings of survivors had been reported.
(Aljazeera)
At least 7 explosions have been heard in Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, followed by a low-flying aircraft, according to The Associated Press. The southern area of the capital city, located near a major military base, was reportedly without electricity.
Venezuela’s government accuses the US of attacking civilian and military installations in multiple states; no word from the US.
The explosions come after months of tension with the United States, which has accused Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of being involved in drug trafficking. Maduro has denied the accusations.
On Thursday, Maduro indicated he was open to negotiating a deal with the US to combat drug trafficking. The US has carried out more than 20 air strikes in the sea near Venezuela since September, as it slapped sanctions and upped military pressure on Caracas.
(Aljazeera)
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