France politics dwell: Emmanuel Macron to provide speech to nation after French PM Barnier resigns

The fall of the French government has created political and economic uncertainty that can sap investor confidence, the head of partially state-owned jet engine manufacturing giant Safran has said.

“Obviously it creates political and economic uncertainty, that’s clear. It’s a situation that investors – whether financial, economic or industrial – don’t like,” chief executive Olivier Andries told reporters, adding that a possible rollover of the 2024 budget into next year could harm the defence sector.

Safran, which is 11 per cent owned by the French government, is one of the world’s largest aerospace suppliers.

If France’s parliament has not passed a budget by 20 December, a caretaker administration could propose emergency legislation that would roll over spending limits from 2024, pending the installation of a new government and a new 2025 budget bill.

Suggesting that this was the most plausible scenario, Mr Andries said: “In defence, that will create pressure”, adding: “Beyond that, where the pressure will land and how the defence ministry will manage that, I can’t say … The pressure is already there – we are feeling it.”

Following the no-confidence vote in Michel Barnier, French president Emmanuel Macron will use his address to the nation this evening to give “visibility” on what comes next by showing himself in his “institutional role as guarantor of the unity of the nation”, an ally has told Politico.

But he also wishes to denounce the “coalition of the irresponsible” who ousted Mr Barnier, the ally said, adding: “The president is determined that those who seek chaos will take responsibility for it.”

As Emmanuel Macron confronts the need to form a new government for a third time this year, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen jetted into Uruguay looking to finalise a free trade deal between the EU and South American Mercosur bloc.

“The finish line of the EU-Mercosur agreement is in sight. Let’s work, let’s cross it. The largest trade and investment partnership the world has ever seen. Both regions will benefit,” Ms von der Leyen said in a post on X.

Mercosur will meet in Montevideo on Thursday amid signs the bloc of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay will use the event to announce an agreement on the trade deal – which would be the largest struck by the European Union in terms of tariffs reductions.

France has long opposed the accord and Mr Macron’s office reiterated its stance on Thursday, warning that the deal is unacceptable in its current form.

European farmers have repeatedly protested against the deal, complaining it will lead to cheap imports of South American commodities, notably beef, that is not subject to the same green and food safety standards as in the European Union.

However, other EU members such as Germany insist the EU-Mercosur deal is vital for the bloc as it looks to diversify its trade after the near-closure of the Russian market and discomfort about its reliance on China. They also see Mercosur as a potentially reliable source of critical minerals required for its green transition.

Writing on X, Ms Abbott said: “Macron built up the far right and attacked the left. He thought it would give voters nowhere else to go but him. He pursued austerity and copied Le Pen’s anti-migrant rubbish.

“It has ended in disaster for him and chaos for France. Lessons to be learnt.”

The no-confidence vote has galvanised France’s opposition leaders, with some explicitly calling for Emmanuel Macron to resign.

“I believe that stability requires the departure of the President of the Republic,” Manuel Bompard, leader of the far-left France Unbowed party, told BFM TV on Wednesday night.

Far-right National Rally leader Marine Le Pen – whose party holds the most seats in the Assembly – stopped short of calling for Mr Macron’s resignation but warned that “the pressure on the President of the Republic will get stronger and stronger.”

While a snap a Toluna Harris Interactive poll of 1,000 people on Thursday night suggested two thirds of voters now want the president to step down, Mr Macron has dismissed such calls and ruled out new legislative elections, telling reporters earlier this week: “I was elected to serve until 2027, and I will fulfill that mandate.”

A French president cannot be pushed out unless two thirds of parliamentarians decide he has gravely failed to fulfil his role, according to a never-yet-invoked article of France’s constitution.

French President Emmanuel Macron asked ousted prime minister Michel Barnier and his government to stay on in caretaker capacity until a new prime minister is nominated, the Elysee said in a statement.

The news comes after Mr Barnier handed in his resignation following an historic no-confidence vote in French parliament last night.

Following the ousting of Michel Barnier, opponents of France’s far-right leader Marine Le Pen allege that it is truly president Emmanuel Macron whom she is seeking to topple by triggering an early election ahead of a March embezzlement trial that could see her barred from office for five years.

A conviction would stop her running in the 2027 presidential election – a contest many believe she could win.

“The target is Emmanuel Macron,” Xavier Bertrand, a potential Barnier replacement, told BFM TV. “She would like everything to speed up before her March verdict.”

Allies in Emmanuel Macron’s own camp have joined the chorus of politicians urging swift action to replace Michel Barnier, whom it took the president nearly two months to appoint following July’s snap election.

“I recommend that he proceed quickly to the appointment of a prime minister, it’s important, we must not leave things up in the air,” National Assembly president Yael Braun-Pivet told France Inter radio prior to meeting Mr Macron at around midday.

Mr Macron, who is due to give a televised address to the nation at 8pm local time, will also meet the head of the Senate at 3pm, French media reported.