Live politics in France: Macron rushes to find new prime minister as Barnier steps down – but remains in office as interim administrator

On X, Ms Abbott wrote: “Macron built up the far right and attacked the left. He thought voters would have no choice but him. He pursued austerity measures and copied Le Pen’s xenophobic nonsense.

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

The vote of no confidence has galvanized France’s opposition leaders, with some explicitly calling for Emmanuel Macron’s resignation.

“I believe that stability requires the resignation of the president of the republic,” Manuel Bompard, leader of the far-left France Unbowed party, told BFM TV on Wednesday evening.

The far-right leader of the Rassemblement Nationale, Marine Le Pen – whose party holds the most seats in the assembly – did not necessarily call for Mr Macron’s resignation, but warned that “the pressure on the President of the Republic will become ever stronger”.

While a Toluna Harris Interactive poll of 1,000 people on Thursday evening found that two-thirds of voters now want the president to resign, Mr Macron has rejected such calls and ruled out new parliamentary elections, telling reporters earlier this week: “I was elected .” to serve until 2027, and I will fulfill this mission.”

A French president can only be removed if two-thirds of parliament agree that he has seriously failed in his role, according to an article in the French constitution that has never been invoked.

French President Emmanuel Macron has asked ousted Prime Minister Michel Barnier and his government to remain in an interim role until a new prime minister is appointed, the Elysee Palace said in a statement.

The news comes after Mr Barnier tendered his resignation last night following a historic vote of no confidence in the French Parliament.

Following the ouster of Michel Barnier, opponents of France’s far-right leader Marine Le Pen claim she actually wants to topple President Emmanuel Macron by triggering early elections ahead of an embezzlement trial in March that could see her barred from office for five years.

A conviction would bar her from running in the 2027 presidential election, a contest many believe she could win.

“The target is Emmanuel Macron,” Xavier Bertrand, a potential Barnier successor, told BFM TV. “She wants everything to move faster before her verdict in March.”

Allies in Emmanuel Macron’s camp have joined the chorus of politicians calling for swift action to replace Michel Barnier, who took the president nearly two months to appoint following a snap election in July.

“I recommend that he proceed quickly with the appointment of a prime minister. This is important, we cannot leave things in limbo,” National Assembly President Yael Braun-Pivet told France Inter Radio before meeting Mr Macron around midday.

French media reported that Mr Macron, who is scheduled to make a televised address to the nation at 8pm local time, will also meet the leader of the Senate at 3pm.

While French Prime Minister Michel Barnier was ousted by a vote of no confidence in the French Parliament, President Emmanuel Macron has a mandate to remain president until 2027.

In French democracy, the president is elected every five years and serves as head of state. He has the power to appoint the prime minister, make laws and is the head of the French armed forces.

He can dissolve the French National Assembly and exercise emergency powers in the event of a major crisis.

The Prime Minister recommends the appointment of government ministers to the French President and is accountable to Parliament, while his government takes care of the day-to-day work of drafting and implementing laws.

French President Emmanuel Macron has criticized what he described as a “coalition of the irresponsible” to oust Michel Barnier by France’s left and far right, which were strengthened by his shock election in the summer.

After the no-confidence vote, Mr Macron held a meeting with close friends where he castigated the French Socialist Party, a source close to the president said Le Parisien.

“The coalition of the irresponsible will have to assume its responsibility before the French people,” Macron is said to have said.

The economic impact of the political unrest in France on the rest of Europe’s economy appears to be limited and limited, but the European Commission is monitoring it, a spokesman said.

“We are following very closely what is happening in France,” commission spokesman Balazs Ujavri told reporters at a regular briefing. “What we are seeing at the moment is that the economic impact is rather limited and limited. The macroeconomic situation in France remains stable.”

“We know that there are measures in the French constitution for scenarios where we reach the end of the year and there is no budget,” Mr Ujvari said.

French politician Francois Bayrou, whose name is often mentioned as a possible successor to Michel Barnier, was due to meet President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace later on Thursday, according to reports Le Parisien and RTL radio.

Mr. Bayrou is a veteran centrist politician and a close ally of Mr. Macron, who founded the Democratic Movement in 2007 and is currently mayor of the southwestern city of Pau.