French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou on Monday lost a confidence vote in the French National Assembly over his budget plan seeking to save billions of euros per year in government spending.

French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou delivers his general policy statement prior to a confidence vote over budget cut plan, in Paris, France, Sept. 8, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

According to the results announced by the Speaker of the French National Assembly, Yael Braun-Pivet, only 194 were in favor of Bayrou out of 558 valid votes. This marks the first time in the history of the Fifth Republic that a government has fallen during a vote of confidence, local media reported.

Speaking to the deputies Monday afternoon ahead of the vote, Bayrou stressed that France's excessive debt was "life-threatening" for the country.

According to official figures, France's public debt stood at 3,345.8 billion euros (about 3,914.6 billion U.S. dollars), or 114 percent of its GDP, at the end of the first quarter of 2025.

"Reality will remain inexorable, spending will continue to rise, and the burden of debt, already unbearable, will grow heavier and more costly," Bayrou said, urging the country to "act without delay."

"It only requires the mobilization and moderate efforts from everyone, provided we act in time," he stressed.

In a speech before the vote, Marine Le Pen, former presidential candidate of France's far-right wing party National Rally, called on President Emmanuel Macron to dissolve the National Assembly to hold new elections following Bayrou's defeat.

Following the confidence vote result, several parties voiced support for Bayrou's leaving. Mathilde Panot, president of the deputies of the hard-left party La France Insoumise (LFI), welcomed the outcome. "Mr. Bayrou wanted a moment of truth," she said. "He got it."

LFI's national coordinator, Manuel Bompard, said: "The fall of this government is a relief for all those who would have borne the full brunt of the dramatic consequences of the Bayrou budget. Today, the popular mobilization on September 10 and the unwavering determination of La France Insoumise have already achieved a first victory."

Laurent Wauquiez, president of the deputies of the right-wing party The Republicans (LR), voted in favor of the confidence motion while allowing "freedom of vote" for his party's elected representatives.

Olivier Faure, first secretary of the Socialist Party, emphasized the need to "restore energy and give purchasing power back to the French." "I want a government of the left and the ecologists, and it will then be up to Parliament to decide."

In a press release, the Elysee said that Macron "acknowledged" the result of the vote. "He will meet with Prime Minister Francois Bayrou tomorrow to accept the resignation of his government," the Elysee said. Macron will nominate a new prime minister in the coming days, it added.

The political turmoil in France has reverberated across Europe. On Monday evening, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told the media that he "hoped" a solution to France's political crisis would be found "as soon as possible," voicing concern over its potential repercussions for the rest of the continent.

Macron nominated Francois Bayrou as France's new prime minister on Dec. 13, 2024, succeeding Michel Barnier, who had been ousted in a no-confidence vote a week earlier.

Bayrou was the fourth French prime minister nominated in 2024 by Macron. He was born in 1952 and founded the centrist party Democratic Movement (MoDem) in 2007. He ran as a presidential candidate three times, in 2002, 2007, and 2012. (1 euro = 1.17 U.S. dollars)