Emmanuel Macron assured on Friday that he intends to "fulfil the mandate entrusted to him by the French people" to the end, regardless of the outcome of the vote of confidence requested by French Prime Minister François Bayrou on September 8.

"The mandate entrusted to me by the French people (...) will be exercised until its end," declared the French president during a press conference in Toulon, in the south of France, with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

Refusing to engage in "political fiction" about a possible new dissolution of the National Assembly after a likely failure of the confidence vote, Emmanuel Macron considered that his Prime Minister was facing "a challenge that is not insurmountable" and called on political forces to find "paths of agreement" on the budget.

François Bayrou announced on Monday that he would hold his government, which is a coalition between the center and the right, accountable to French MPs on France's debt reduction and the budgetary target to be set for 2026.

This decision opens a new period of uncertainty that once again places Emmanuel Macron at the forefront. Mr. Bayrou does not have a majority, and the left-wing and far-right opposition have made it clear they will not vote for confidence. The government therefore has every chance of falling.

In the opposition, La France Insoumise (radical left) and the National Rally (far right) called for the resignation of the President of the Republic, opening the way to a new presidential election, a scenario that some prefer to that of dissolution and new legislative elections.

Beyond the departure of Mr. Bayrou and his team, all scenarios seem to suit the French, according to a poll conducted on August 26: while the appointment of a new Prime Minister is the most popular (81%), a clear majority also emerges for a dissolution and new legislative elections (69%), or even for the resignation of Emmanuel Macron (67%).

AFP