Political analyst calls vote of no confidence in government a reputational blow to Macron

The vote of no confidence in the government of French Prime Minister Michel Barnier was a reputational blow to the country's President Emmanuel Macron. French political scientist Emmanuel Le Roy told Izvestia on Thursday, December 5.

"It is obvious that this is another blow to him (Macron. - Ed.), that his positions and his legitimacy are now seriously undermined and that from this point of view the positions of France and its president are significantly weakened," Leroy said.

According to the expert, the draft budget proposed by Barnier was "totally unrealistic." Its essence was to tax France's working and middle classes, while preserving the financial security of the richest segments of the population.

"We should not forget that since 2017, France has gotten into debt for another €1000 billion and that France's total debt now exceeds €3000 billion and it is against this scandal that [the leader of the parliamentary faction of the far-right National Rally party] Marine [Le Pen] is opposed," the political analyst added.

According to Le Roy, there is no suitable candidate in France at the moment, capable of becoming such a prime minister, who could unite people enough to "protect the Macron regime." Possible contenders include current Armed Forces Minister Sebastien Lecornu and Interior Minister Bruno Retallo.

"There is no credibility left today: Macron has exhausted his credit and the only thing left to him is some kind of backup plan. It is very likely that the political, economic and social situation in France will deteriorate over the next few years," Leroy predicts.

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France's National Assembly (lower house of parliament) passed a resolution of no confidence in the government of Prime Minister Michel Barnier on December 4. 331 deputies voted in favor of the vote of no confidence.

The day before, President Macron ruled out the possibility of his resignation from office. He called calls for his resignation a political fiction and confirmed his intention to remain in office until the end of the presidential term in 2027. In addition, on December 5, he is to address the nation.