Macron Vows to Serve Full Term Amid Confidence Vote Crisis Over Budget Policies
Paris, The Gulf Observer: French President Emmanuel Macron pledged on Friday to complete his mandate despite a deepening political crisis surrounding budget reforms that will culminate in a confidence vote on September 8, potentially forcing Prime Minister François Bayrou and his government to resign.
Macron voiced his “full support” for Bayrou after the prime minister’s decision to call the vote triggered fears of renewed political and financial instability in France. With less than two years left in his presidency, Macron also faced calls from the hard left to step down, a demand he firmly rejected.
“The mandate entrusted to me by the French people will be served out until its end, in line with the commitment I made to them,” Macron said at a press conference alongside German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. He insisted that Bayrou was not facing “an insurmountable challenge” and urged political actors to find “ways to agree” on the government’s proposed budget.
Bayrou, 74, has unveiled plans to cut approximately €44 billion ($51 billion), including measures to abolish two public holidays and freeze spending increases. The proposals have provoked public anger and resistance across the political spectrum.
Should Bayrou lose the September 8 confidence vote, he and his cabinet would be compelled to resign. Macron would then face the decision of either reappointing him, selecting a new prime minister—his seventh since 2017—or dissolving parliament and calling early elections, a scenario that could further prolong the country’s political uncertainty.
