Macron vows to stay in office until the end of his term
French President Emmanuel Macron has vowed to stay in office until the end of his term in 2027, and said he will name a new prime minister within days, after the resignation of Michel Barnier.
Mr Macron came out fighting a day after a historic no-confidence vote at the National Assembly left France without a functioning government.
He laid the blame at the door of his opponents for bringing down Mr Barnier’s government.
He said they chose “not to do but to undo”. “They chose disorder,” he said.
The president said the far right and the far left had united in what he called “an anti-Republican front” and added: “I won’t shoulder other people’s irresponsibility.”
He said he would name a new prime minister within days, but gave no hints as to who that might be.
Earlier in the day, Mr Macron “took note” of Mr Barnier’s resignation, the Elysee presidential palace said in a statement.
Mr Barnier and other ministers will be “in charge of current affairs until the appointment of a new government”, the statement said.
The no-confidence motion passed by 331 votes in the National Assembly, and forced Mr Barnier to step down after just three months in office, making it the shortest tenure of any prime minister in modern French history.
Mr Macron faces pressure to quickly name a new leader capable of navigating a fractured parliament, where no party holds a majority.