News Digest: Déjà-Vu? France’s Budget Woes Take Down Second Prime Minister in One Year

If you’re feeling a sense of déjà-vu, it’s understandable. After all, less than a year ago, we were in the same situation, as then Prime Minister Michel Barnier was ousted following a vote of no-confidence while attempting to push through his 2025 Budget. This time, Prime Minister François Bayrou preempted his fate by calling his own vote of confidence to test support for his 2026 Budget. Unsurprisingly, it was announced yesterday evening that he lost by 364 to 194 votes.

Now, Bayrou will step down after just nine months as PM (although Barnier still holds the title of the shortest period in office, at just three months), and France will find itself without a government for the third time since Macron called the snap parliamentary election last July.

So, what happens now? Well, much like last time, it will now be down to President Macron to elect another Prime Minister, which will be his fifth since starting his second term in 2022. A spokesperson from the Elysée Palace said yesterday that this would be done “in the next few days”, and Macron will certainly want to avoid a similar scenario to last year, when France ended the year without a government or a Budget.

Despite the persistent calls on Macron to resign, the French President has doubled down on his determination to see out the end of his term (until 2027), and a statement prior to the vote indicated that he also wouldn’t look to call another parliamentary election either. With France facing the biggest government crisis since the start of the Fifth Republic, and parties – and public opinion – seemingly more divided than ever, it seems unlikely that either of these options would help France out of its mess. As for the new Prime Minister, he or she will almost certainly face the same challenges of Barnier and Bayrou in trying to appease all sides of the fractured parliament and push through a viable 2026 Budget.

Current government spokesperson Sophie Primas arguably put it best, stating post-vote: “Our mission in the service of the nation has come to an end. Have the country’s problems disappeared? Unfortunately, not.”

The collapse of the government won’t stop the French from protesting, and the online collective behind tomorrow’s “Bloquons Tout” (Block Everything) strike has vowed to continue as planned. While the mass mobilisation was initially called in protest against Bayrou’s Budget, protesters seemingly have plenty of other gripes to contend with.

Some unions have also planned strikes as part of the protest, and there will likely be disruption to Intercités and TER regional trains(SNCF, TGV InOui, Ouigo, and Eurostar lines shouldn’t be affected). Local buses and trains may also be affected in both Paris and Nantes. Delays and cancellations may also affect flights to and from Nice, Marseille, Paris Charles-de-Gaulle, and all Corsican airports, while road blockades are possible along major motorways and city ring roads.

While it’s unclear how widespread disruption will be, protests, manifestations, and acts of sabotage are expected in cities around France, and police and intelligence agencies have been mobilised around the country in preparation. If you don’t need to travel tomorrow or have the option to work from home, we’d recommend staying home and avoiding city areas where manifestations are likely to occur.

It’s just one month until the EU’s new Entry/Exit System (EES) comes into action and – dare we say! – it looks as if this time it might actually go ahead.

Dover ferry port and Eurotunnel have both confirmed that the EES will be officially launched on October 12th; however, they will initially begin recording biometric data from coach passengers and freight vehicles only. It will then be expanded to include all car and foot passengers from November 1st. This phased approach is being designed to avoid the kind of delays and severe travel disruptions that the popular border points faced when Brexit came into effect.

Airports across France will also be phasing the introduction of the EES, but it’s not yet known which airports will be ready to implement the system from October 12th.

As always, we’ll keep you updated as we learn more, and you can read our full guide here – Everything You Need to Know About the EU’s New Entry/Exit System (EES).