Macron Rejects Resignation Demands, Promises New French Prime Minister

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French President Emmanuel Macron is seen on monitors in a control room at AFP headquarters as he addresses the nation during a televised broadcast from the presidential Elysee Palace, on the day of the Prime Minister’s resignation on December 5, 2024, following the parliamentary defeat one day prior, that forced his government to step down. President Emmanuel Macron on December 5, 2024, sought a new prime minister to prevent France from sliding deeper into political turmoil after Prime Minister’s government was ousted in a historic no-confidence vote in parliament. The vote was the first successful no-confidence action since a defeat for Georges Pompidou’s government in 1962, when Charles de Gaulle was president. (Photo by LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP via Getty Images)

OAN Staff James Meyers
10:16 AM – Friday, December 6, 2024

Embattled French President Emmanuel Macron said he hoped to appoint a new prime minister in the next few days, in a fiery televised address on Thursday.

Macron spoke one day after Prime Minister Michael Barnier was ousted by lawmakers in a no-confidence vote.

The president resisted calls for him to stand down, seeking instead to shift blame onto the left and right leaning factions that united to bring down Barnier’s government.

However, Macron had harsh words for the far-right National Rally, whose leader, Marine Le Pen, has put together opposition against Macron and has vowed to tarnish his agenda.

“The extreme right and the extreme left united together in an anti-Republican front,” Macron said of the Wednesday vote against Barnier that opened up chaos in French politics and jeopardized attempts to pass a contentious budget.

Meanwhile, Barnier will remain in office in a caretaker capacity until a new government has been appointed, Macron’s office said after the president accepted his resignation on Thursday.

“Let’s be honest, they think about one thing: the presidential election,” Macron said of Le Pen’s party, claiming their “cynical” approach had brought “a sense of chaos” to the country.

“They insulted their own voters, and they have chosen simply disorder,” he added.

“From today, it’s [a] new era,” Macron told the French public, saying the National Assembly “has the duty to do what it was elected for” and act “in the service of the French people.”

However, there is little evidence that the new era will be any smoother for Macron than the last. Whoever he picks as prime minister must be approved by a divided parliament, where he faces opposition from both sides.

Macron is halfway through his final term as president, but the results of the snap election he called in June have severely complicated the final stages of his time in power and lessened his authority home and abroad.

Additionally, a further snap election is not possible because the current parliament is required to sit until June, one year after the last vote.

Having attempted to appease both factions in parliament by choosing Barnier in September, Macron may next look to garner more support.

But the National Rally leader reaffirmed Thursday that she would oppose any effort to freeze out her wing of parliament, telling French network CNews: “We have not changed our minds: we are opposed to a left-wing Prime Minister.”

A budget must meanwhile be passed before a December 21^st, deadline. If that deadline is missed, the government could still legislate a “fiscal continuity law,” which would avoid a shutdown by allowing the government to collect taxes and pay salaries, with spending capped at 2024 levels, according to the S&P Global Ratings credit rating agency.

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