French Parliament ousts second PM in less than a year, fueling instability

 The French government was thrown into fresh turmoil Monday as lawmakers fired the prime minister, the latest leader tossed out by a deeply divided legislature.

Parliamentarians on the left and right ousted François Bayrou with a whopping 364-194 vote against him in a motion of no confidence. They are unhappy about his proposal to make drastic cuts of around 44 billion euros ($51 billion) to next year’s budget, an unpopular attempt to resolve France’s economic woes.

A statement from the Élysée Palace said that French President Emmanuel Macron will appoint a new prime minister "in the coming days."

After the vote, some politicians also called for Macron's ouster. “Bayrou has fallen. Victory and relief for the people," said Jean-Luc Melenchon, head of the radical left France Unbowed party. "Macron is now on the front line facing the people. He too must go.”

French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou at the National Assembly in Paris on Monday.Bertrand Guay / AFP - Getty Images

This was the second time in nine months that lawmakers in France’s National Assembly ousted a prime minister; Michel Barnier was deposed in a vote of no confidence in December. Before that, the last successful vote of no confidence was in 1962. It means Macron will be looking for his fifth prime minister in just 20 months.

Though Macron remains a big presence internationally — leading European efforts to support Ukraine and provide a counterweight to President Donald Trump — at home he is dogged by a divided electorate and long-term uncertainty.