PARIS, Aug 27 – French people are in favor of new parliamentary and presidential elections, with Prime Minister Francois Bayrou’s minority government likely to collapse next month.
Two-thirds of respondents in two polls also wanted President Emmanuel Macron to resign, and the far-right National Rally (RN) received the most support in one poll, although not a majority. This indicates a growing dissatisfaction with politics in a country with only minority cabinets and fragmented parliaments since Macron’s re-election in 2022.
Bayrou’s confidence vote on September 8 over his 2026 budget plans has thrown France back into crisis, with the main opposition parties voting against him. If the government falls, Macron could name a new prime minister or call a snap parliamentary election.
However, Macron has ruled out resigning. Separate surveys by Ifop, Elabe, and Toluna Harris Interactive showed that 56% to 69% of French people want snap parliamentary elections. The Elabe poll for BFM TV and the Ifop poll for LCI also showed a similar result.
The Debt
Emmanuel Bayrou, has proposed a 44 billion euro budget squeeze to address a high deficit, which reached 5.8% of GDP last year. He plans to scrap two public holidays and freeze most public spending.
Opposition parties, including the left, far right, and far right, agree with Bayrou’s assessment but disagree on how to tackle the issue. Morgan Stanley predicts that the closer the March 2026 local elections are, the more complicated it will be to reach a compromise in parliament.
Macron, a political outsider, was elected in 2017 to modernize the euro zone’s second-biggest economy with growth-friendly tax cuts and reforms. However, crises such as protests, COVID-19, and inflation have shown he has failed to change France’s overspending habit.
More protests have been called for September 10, two days after the confidence vote, by various groups with different aims on social media.
with information from Reuters
