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Politico (1 September 2025)

Marion Solletty

If Prime Minister François Bayrou had hoped far-right leader Marine Le Pen would avoid bringing down France’s government because she is banned from running for political office, he sorely miscalculated.

In fact, Le Pen and her National Rally party, which tops the polls in France, look set to play a decisive role in ejecting Bayrou in a no-confidence vote on Sept. 8. They are adamant they want to seize on the deepening political crisis to press for a parliamentary election, and the resignation of President Emmanuel Macron.

Seeking to enact a highly unpopular €43.8 billion budget squeeze, Bayrou and Macron had effectively wagered that Le Pen — who controls the single largest opposition party in the National Assembly — would play along, when they called a no-confidence vote last week.

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