France’s Prime Minister François Bayrou is fighting for his political life as a crucial parliamentary confidence vote looms on September 8. His controversial plan to slash 44 billion euros ($51 billion) from public spending in 2026 has united opposition parties against him, threatening to plunge France into yet another political crisis.

Bayrou’s budget, aimed at tackling a soaring deficit of 5.8% of GDP and a crippling public debt of 3.346 trillion euros (114% of GDP), includes divisive measures like scrapping two public holidays. Critics across the spectrum, from far-right leader Marine Le Pen to far-left firebrand Jean-Luc Mélenchon, have vowed to reject it. With opposition parties controlling over 320 seats in the National Assembly compared to the centrists’ 210, Bayrou’s chances of survival look slim.

Desperate to avoid defeat, Bayrou is holding last-minute talks with political heavyweights, including Le Pen, whose National Rally is riding high in polls despite her recent embezzlement conviction. Left-wing leaders like Raphaël Glucksmann have called the budget “unacceptable”, urging Bayrou to scrap the vote and seek compromise. Meanwhile, Mélenchon’s France Unbowed demands Macron’s resignation if Bayrou falls.

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President Emmanuel Macron, whose snap election call last year triggered this parliamentary deadlock, insists he’ll serve out his term. He’s urged parties to find “paths of agreement”, but the fractured National Assembly—split among three minority blocs—makes consensus elusive. France’s economic woes, as one of the world’s largest economies, are rattling investors and the eurozone.

Adding to the tension, the “Bloquons Tout” (Block Everything) movement is planning nationwide protests on September 10, fuelled by public outrage over the budget’s austerity measures. If Bayrou loses, Macron may turn to figures like Sébastien Lecornu, Gérald Darmanin, or Catherine Vautrin to lead, but any new government will face the same polarised landscape.

France’s political future hangs in the balance as the clock ticks down to the vote.

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