French prime minister Bayrou ousted after no confidence vote

Francois Bayrou (front right) is gone from the government (Photo: Wikimedia commons)

The French government has collapsed after prime minister Francois Bayrou lost a no-confidence vote on Monday. He had only been in office for nine months.

France’s National Assembly voted by 364 votes to 194 to eject Bayrou from office and bring down his minority government.

Bayrou had called the vote of confidence himself in an attempt to force MPs to adopt his austerity budget, with plans to make cuts to government spending of up to over £38bn.

Denis Godard, a revolutionary socialist in France, spoke to Socialist Worker about the deepening political crisis and the opportunities for the left.

“Since neoliberal president Emmanuel Macron’s snap election last June, the parliament has been divided between three groups—the left, the centre and the far right. None has a majority,” Denis said.

“This is the second prime minister dismissed in one year. This is a situation where there is no stability,” he said.

Macron will be scrambling to appoint another prime minister. But Denis explained that “there are no real options left for Macron”.

“No matter what he chooses to do, or who he appoints, he will get the same result because all of the solutions he can offer are all from above,” he said.

“The most interesting question is not what will Macron do next, but what opportunities does this open up for us? Because the only alternative to this political manoeuvring is on the streets.

“Bayrou’s budget was an attack on the whole of France. The people cannot accept it, the people don’t support it. And it has created this organic movement which has called a day of protests and strikes for Wednesday.

“It is the threat of this movement, and the anger people feel, that has forced Bayrou out. The political parties are scared.”

The protest on Wednesday has been backed by left wing La France Insoumise, the Greens, the Communists and several unions. It could see roads, schools and businesses shut down causing major disruption across the country. And a national strike has also been called for the following week on 18 September.

With Bayrou gone, there is an opportunity for the working class to mobilise to shape France’s political future for themselves.

A new movement, Bloquons Tout (Block Everything), is galvanising resistance to the government. Denis said it “is a class movement”.

“Because of the nature of the attack, the answer to the pain felt is a class answer. The poor against the rich, the workers against the bosses.”

What the left needs to do is “push this new movement to connect with other demands too, with the anti-fascist and anti-racist movement”.

“That’s where hope lies,” Denis added.