Macron to name new prime minister ‘within days’ after Bayrou ousted in confidence vote

France's Prime Minister Francois Bayrou arrives to deliver his general policy statement during the parliamentary extraordinary session prior to a confidence vote over the government's austerity budget, at the National Assembly in Paris on September 8, 2025. France's parliament is expected to oust Prime Minister Francois Bayrou on September 8, 2025 after just nine months in office, plunging the key EU member into new political uncertainty and creating a painful dilemma for President Emmanuel Macron. Bayrou blindsided even his allies by calling a confidence vote to end a months-long standoff over his austerity budget, which foresees almost 44 billion euros ($52 billion) of cost savings to reduce France's debt pile. (Photo by Bertrand GUAY / AFP) (Photo by BERTRAND GUAY/AFP via Getty Images)
France’s Prime Minister Francois Bayrou arrives to deliver his general policy statement during the parliamentary extraordinary session prior to a confidence vote over the government’s austerity budget, at the National Assembly in Paris on September 8, 2025. (Photo by BERTRAND GUAY/AFP via Getty Images)

OAN Staff Sophia Flores
1:00 PM –Monday, September 8, 2025

French President Emmanuel Macron is set to name a fourth prime minister in the last 12 months within a “matter of days” after current Prime Minister François Bayrou was ousted from the position in an overwhelming vote against him.

On Monday, Bayrou lost the confidence vote in an overwhelming 364-194 vote. A confidence vote is a parliamentary procedure where lawmakers decide whether they still support the government or a specific leader. Bayrou himself called for the vote in hopes of rallying support for his budget plan despite knowing the risk that came with it if the vote did not fall in his favor.

“The greatest risk was to not take one, to let things go on without changing anything, to go on doing politics as usual,” he said. “Submission to debt is like submission through military force. Dominated by weapons, or dominated by our creditors, because of a debt that is submerging us — in both cases, we lose our freedom.”

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Under French constitutional convention, a prime minister who loses a confidence vote is required to resign from their position.

Bayrou was first appointed in December 2024. He is expected to turn in his resignation to Macron on Tuesday.

As the president of France, Macron is now tasked with finding a replacement for the ousted prime minister.

Bayrou’s predecessor, Michel Barnier, was removed from the position just after three months. Prior to that, Gabriel Attal was prime minister from January 2024 until September 2024. The youngest-ever and the first openly gay individual to be the French prime minister stepped down from the position due to political fallout from the July 2024 snap parliamentary elections that President Macron had called.

Monday’s vote outcome and the constant rotation of prime ministers highlights the ongoing political instability in France.

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