Listen: Bayrou is out. What happens now in France?

After just nine months in office, Prime Minister François Bayrou has been ousted in a crushing confidence vote. Only 194 MPs backed him, while 364 voted against.

Bayrou, a 74-year-old veteran centrist and long-time Macron ally, called the vote a gamble himself. He said France was sinking in a “swamp of debt” and that he needed parliamentary backing for €44bn of austerity measures. That included a deeply unpopular plan to scrap two public holidays and in the end, his gamble backfired. So, what happens after handing his resignation to President Emmanuel Macron this morning?

Production: By Europod, in co-production with Sphera Network.

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You can find the transcript here if you prefer reading:

After just nine months in office, Prime Minister François Bayrou has been ousted in a crushing confidence vote. Only 194 MPs backed him, while 364 voted against. But what happens after handing his resignation to President Emmanuel Macron this morning?

Bayrou, a 74-year-old veteran centrist and long-time Macron ally, called the vote himself a gamble. He said France was sinking in a “swamp of debt” and that he needed parliamentary backing for €44bn of austerity measures. That included a deeply unpopular plan to scrap two public holidays and in the end, his gamble backfired.

This marks Macron’s third prime ministerial collapse in less than a year, and the fifth change since his second term began in 2022. It’s worth noting that Bayrou was already the most unpopular PM since 1958 not only for his austerity agenda but also for his handling of a Catholic school abuse scandal that resurfaced during his tenure.

Opposition leaders from all sides tore him down. Marine Le Pen declared his resignation “the end of the agony of a phantom government.” Left-wing MPs accused Macron’s economic programme of being not just unpopular, but entirely lacking legitimacy. And even some centrists abandoned Bayrou, furious at his dismissive remarks about victims of the abuse investigation.

Now, France’s political scene has been gridlocked since Macron’s ill-fated snap election in 2024, which left parliament split into three camps: left, centre, and far right. No single bloc has a majority, which means no government can govern securely.

For now the far right is leading in the polls, the left is demanding its turn at power, and Macron is caught in the middle, a weakened president with a revolving door at the prime minister’s office. This political instability is happening against the backdrop of a mounting debt crisis. France owes over €3.3tn, around 114 percent of its GDP, which is the third-highest level in the eurozone, and equivalent to nearly €50,000 for every French citizen.

Bayrou’s response was austerity. But austerity is a word that sends people onto the streets in France and with new protests already planned this week under the slogan “Block Everything,” it’s clear that public patience is thin.

What’s next?

The immediate task for Macron is to appoint yet another prime minister. That person’s top priority will be passing a 2026 budget, something Bayrou failed spectacularly to do. The trouble is, whoever Macron picks may face the same fate because in this fragmented parliament, survival depends less on policy and more on sheer political calculations.

There’s also growing pressure for fresh elections. Le Pen’s National Rally would like that, though they’re not guaranteed to win a majority either. Melanchon’s left, which technically holds the largest bloc, argues Macron should appoint one of their own. While the president appears determined not to resign before 2027, although every failed government chips away at his authority.

So, France now finds itself in a familiar place drifting in political uncertainty, waiting for Macron to pull yet another name from his list of candidates. But the bigger question remains: in a country so divided, is there any prime minister who can truly survive?