The French government was toppled Wednesday after far-left and far-right lawmakers joined forces to pass a no-confidence measure against Prime Minister Michel Barnier and his Cabinet.
Barnier, a conservative who held the post of prime minister for barely three months, is now obliged to tender his resignation, and that of his government, to French President Emmanuel Macron.
It was the first time since 1962 that a French government was ousted like this. The move is expected to usher in a period of political uncertainty in the second-biggest economic power in the European Union.
Barnier’s foes in France’s lower house of Parliament needed 299 votes to oust him.
They got 331 after Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally joined with the leftist coalition in the chamber to oust the Barnier government.
“In a republic, only the people are sovereign,” Mathilde Panot, the leader of the radical left France Unbowed (LFI) parliamentary group, said after the vote.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
