French Government Collapses After Ousting Of Prime Minister Bayrou

François Bayrou must now constitutionally agree to submit his resignation after nearly nine months in office.

The French government collapsed after legislators voted to oust Prime Minister François Bayrou.

In a 364-194 vote, Bayrou was ousted during what appeared to be a staggering political miscalculation, with hopes that lawmakers would back his view that France must cut public spending to rein in its debts.

Instead, officials rallied against him in the vote that Bayrou called for. He must now constitutionally agree to submit his resignation after nearly nine months in office. The move marks a new crisis for Europe’s second-largest economy. It now requires President Emmanuel Macron to search for a fourth prime minister in 12 months.