French Prime Minister Michel Barnier (center) speaks to people in the National Assembly before French lawmakers vote on a motion of no confidence in Paris on Wednesday.

Michel Euler/AP

Hide caption

Toggle label

Michel Euler/AP

LONDON and PARIS – French lawmakers have voted to oust Prime Minister Michel Barnier in a historic vote of no confidence.

It is the first time since 1962 that the French parliament has voted to overthrow the government in this way.

The vote – 331 voted for a vote of no confidence, significantly more than the 288 needed for approval – is a major blow to President Emmanuel Macron, who made Barnier prime minister in September after snap elections in which no single party won a parliamentary majority appointed.

According to the French constitution, new elections cannot be held until next summer, a year after the last general election. Ahead of the vote, Macron promised to serve until 2027, but must now appoint a new prime minister. With the National Assembly, France’s lower house of parliament, split into three major blocs – the far-right Rassemblement Nationale, the left-wing New Popular Front coalition and Macron’s centrists – the path forward is likely to be rocky for Europe’s second-largest economy.

Barnier survived a vote of no confidence in October. But now he will be forced to resign after lawmakers from opposing parties voted against him on Wednesday, angry that he pushed through a 2025 state budget without a legislative vote.

At 73, he is the oldest politician to hold the office of prime minister in France’s modern history. After only 91 days in office, he has completed the shortest term in office.

Barnier’s 50-year political career included stints as French foreign minister and European commissioner. He received praise for his years of efforts to negotiate the conditions for Britain’s exit from the EU, the so-called Brexit.

Barnier’s critics in parliament accused him of leading a government that was “without democratic legitimacy.” This suggests that appointing a new government could prove complicated as it too could face votes of no confidence unless one of the party blocs can attract enough supporters from the other parts of the political spectrum to unite into a solid majority alliance.

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen arrives to deliver her speech to the National Assembly ahead of a vote of no confidence in the National Assembly in Paris.

Michel Euler/AP

Hide caption

Toggle label

Michel Euler/AP

Marine Le Pen, a strong supporter of tougher immigration restrictions and anti-crime policies, criticized Barnier to his face during Wednesday’s no-confidence debate, saying he had proposed a technocratic budget that refused to “address the causes of the staggering surge.” security concerns and crime facing the country.”

Despite her party’s calls for more purchasing power for French consumers, whose cost of living has risen significantly, Barnier has “only given us breadcrumbs,” she said to applause from her National Assembly colleagues. “Their only answer was taxes, taxes and more taxes.”

The challenge in the coming days, as Barnier warned before this vote, could come from the economic markets, as investors withdraw money from the French economy and the budget that sparked this political conflagration has not yet been passed.

During the debate, Barnier called the vote “a moment of truth, of responsibility.” France must “deal with the reality of our debt,” he added, stressing that he had no joy in proposing difficult measures in the budget and that he had developed it together with both chambers of the French Parliament.

Barnier was only able to push through the 2025 budget earlier this week on the condition that he would face a vote of no confidence just two days later. With his government now toppled, that budget will not be passed, and a caretaker government will now have to pass emergency legislation to ensure France’s public debt is serviced, new loan applications are made and salaries are paid to its civil servants and military personnel from January.

This is a developing story that may be updated.

Willem Marx reported from London; Eleanor Beardsley reported from Paris.