French government risks failing opposition's no-confidence vote

France's government on Wednesday faced no-confidence votes that could spell the end of the administration of Prime Minister Michel Barnier, plunging the country into uncharted waters of political chaos.

The toppling of the Barnier government after just three months in office would present President Emmanuel Macron with the unenviable choice of picking a viable successor with over two years of his presidential term left.

The National Assembly is due to debate two motions brought by the hard left and the far right in a standoff over next year's austerity budget, which saw the premier on Monday force through a social security financing bill without a vote.


The motion brought by the far-right National Rally (RN) of three-time presidential candidate Marine Le Pen is expected to be rejected.

But Le Pen has said her forces will back the left's motion, giving it enough numbers to pass in an evening vote that could topple a French government for the first time in more than 60 years.

Barnier said in a television interview late Tuesday that he believed his government could still survive. "I want this and it is possible," Barnier said.

He offered no last-minute concessions to break the deadlock and accused Le Pen of "trying to get into a kind of bidding war" in their talks.

The turmoil follows a snap parliamentary election called by Macron in the summer that aimed, without success, to halt the march of the far right.

The result left the RN as the largest single party in the lower-house National Assembly but with no faction holding a majority. Barnier took office with Le Pen's party holding a sword of Damocles over his head, since it could topple the administration at nearly any point of its choosing. No new elections can be called within a year of last summer's vote, narrowing Macron's options.