President Emmanuel Macron is seeking a way out of France's political crisis after Michel Barnier became the first prime minister to be ousted by parliament in over six decades, reports RFI.
The upheaval leaves lawmakers just 70 days to debate a new 2025 budget plan after the previous one was scrapped with the vote of no-confidence.
Barnier officially resigned on Thursday morning, plunging France into its second major political crisis in six months.
It came the day after a confidence vote nullified the government’s €60 billion austerity plan that Barnier forced through parliament using his executive powers in a bid to shrink France's huge deficit.
Brought by the hard left and supported by the far right in the National Assembly, the motion saw a majority of 331 MPs in the 577-member chamber opting to topple the government – a first since 1962.
The political upheaval has left France without a long-term budget, triggering an automatic renewal of the current financial plan into 2025.
Lawmakers now have a tight 70-day window to propose, debate and adopt a fresh plan.