PARIS, Dec 5: French lawmakers on Wednesday voted to oust the government of Prime Minister Michel Barnier after just three months in office, a historic move which hurled the country further into political uncertainty.
For the first time in over sixty years, the National Assembly lower house toppled the incumbent government, approving a no-confidence motion that had been proposed by the hard left but which crucially was backed by the far-right headed by Marine Le Pen.
Barnier's rapid ejection from office comes after snap parliamentary elections this summer which resulted in a hung parliament with no party having an overall majority and the far-right holding the key to the government's survival.
President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday sought a new prime minister to prevent France from sliding deeper into political turmoil after Michel Barnier's government was ousted in a historic no-confidence vote in parliament.
Poised to be contemporary France's shortest-serving premier, Barnier met Macron at the Elysee Palace to submit his resignation, after the defeat in parliament on Wednesday forced his government to step down.
The vote was the first successful no-confidence action since a defeat for Georges Pompidou's government in 1962, when Charles de Gaulle was president.
Macron was to meet both upper and lower house parliament speakers before giving an address to the nation at 1900 GMT.
The president is believed to be in a hurry to appoint the new premier to avoid a vacuum, according to multiple sources who spoke to AFP.
Limiting any impression of political chaos is all the more important for Macron who on Saturday will host world leaders -- including US president-elect Donald Trump -- for the reopening of Notre Dame cathedral in Paris after the devastating 2019 fire. —AFP
