France’s debt crisis has become the latest test of a fragile political system. Prime Minister François Bayrou is forcing a confidence vote that could bring down his government, echoing the turbulence that has dogged French politics since last year’s elections.
The vote on 8 September comes just two days before mass protests against austerity. Unions and activists are calling for a nationwide shutdown on 10 September in response to Bayrou’s plan for €44 billion in savings.
Bayrou insists the burden will not fall on workers alone. He has pledged to target “unjust” tax breaks that benefit the wealthy and large companies, and to ask higher earners to make what he called a “specific effort”.
“From now on everyone will be accountable,” Bayrou said on Monday, giving lawmakers “13 days” to choose “between chaos or responsibility”.
His proposals include cuts to public sector hiring, a pension freeze and the scrapping of two public holidays. With no majority in the National Assembly, Bayrou is asking lawmakers to share responsibility for reining in the deficit.
Risky gamble
The move carries clear political risks. Last year President Emmanuel Macron dissolved parliament after the far-right National Rally topped the European elections. The outcome was not stability but a weakened presidency and an even more fractured parliament.
Bayrou defended his approach. “It's risky, but it's even riskier not to do anything,” he said.
The National Rally, France Unbowed, the Greens and the Socialists have already pledged to vote against the government. Socialist leader Boris Vallaud told BFM television that Bayrou “is not choosing dialogue, he is choosing liquidation”.
With so many parties opposed, Bayrou’s fate may rest on a small group of MPs who could be swayed either by the urgency of tackling debt or by the risk of another government collapse.
Test of public support
If Bayrou loses, Macron could again dissolve parliament and call elections. He said in June that he had no appetite to repeat last year’s snap poll, but the option remains open.
The protests planned for 10 September will also weigh heavily. The scale of disruption will be seen as a test of public support for or against the government’s reforms.
Bayrou says the confidence vote is not about the detail of the 2026 budget, but about the broader question of whether France faces a “national emergency” on public finances.
If lawmakers agree, “the government is confirmed”, he said. If not, “the government falls”.
