French President Emmanuel Macron launched a search for a new prime minister on Thursday to prevent deepening political turmoil in France after Michel Barnier’s government was toppled by a historic no-confidence vote in parliament, France 24 reported.
Barnier, who became the shortest-serving prime minister in modern France, met Macron at the Elysee Palace to tender his resignation after a defeat in parliament on Wednesday forced his government to resign.
The vote was the first successful no-confidence vote since the defeat of Georges Pompidou’s government in 1962, when Charles de Gaulle was president.
Macron was due to meet the speakers of the upper and lower houses of parliament before addressing the nation at 19:00 GMT.
The president is believed to be rushing to appoint a new premier to avoid a political vacuum, multiple AFP sources said.
For Macron, who on Saturday will host world leaders including US President-elect Donald Trump for the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris following a devastating fire in 2019, it is all the more important to limit any impression of political chaos, the media stresses.