In France, a new social movement born in mid-summer threatened to “block everything” starting this Wednesday, September 10, in protest of government-imposed austerity measures. To everyone’s surprise, Prime Minister François Bayrou then called for a vote of confidence in his own government on Monday, September 8, despite being almost certain to fail.
Ultimately, Bayrou lost the confidence vote, with 364 MPs voting against and 194 in favor. This means that yet another prime minister has been forced to resign — a development that could cut the ground from under the feet of the mobilization that is brewing. At least, that is what President Emmanuel Macron is hoping for.
With France mired in a major regime crisis for over a year, the events of the coming days and weeks promise to be decisive. Will they finally mark the collapse of Macronism and its neoliberal policies? Could they be an opportunity for the radical left, or does this risk bringing about the much-feared rise to power of the far right? Everything will depend on the strength and evolution of this movement and its alliance with trade unions and left-wing parties.
On July 15, no doubt hoping to take advantage of summertime political apathy, Bayrou presented his budget plan for the coming years at a press conference with apocalyptic overtones. According to him, France is “in a situation of extreme danger” due to its excessive debt (114 percent of GDP) and its deficit (5.4 percent of GDP).
Bayrou, a member of the Macronite coalition, thus called for an extra €43.8 billion in savings…
Auteur: Aurélie Dianara
