Bayrou is gambling that lawmakers can at least agree that France’s dire financial situation needs rectifying, but the odds appear stacked against the longtime centrist. Leaders from both the far-left France Unbowed and far-right National Rally, including Marine Le Pen, have already vowed to support toppling the government.
To survive, the prime minister needs the Socialists to vote in support of his government rather than simply abstaining — which party leader Olivier Faure ruled out in an interview with Le Monde. The center-left party remains furious with Bayrou following the collapse of retirement reform talks earlier this year.
“It is obviously inconceivable that the Socialists would vote in favor of the prime minister,” Faure said.
Bayrou had been expected to face a confidence vote later in the legislative process. By calling one ahead of the French legislature’s official return to business and just two days before a nationwide shutdown set for Sept. 10, Bayrou is effectively choosing to accelerate his fate and face the risk of a government collapse head-on.
“There are moments in life when only a calculated risk can allow you to escape a more serious risk,” Bayrou said. “It is a matter of the survival of our state, the image of our nation, and each and every family.”
One ministerial adviser put a different spin on it. She was overheard saying after the press conference: “It’s better to die by suicide than suffer in agony.”
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