French govt toppled in confidence vote: how events unfolded

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00:00364 votes against, 194 in favour, and France now needs another Prime Minister.

00:08A crushing defeat for François Bayrou, the centrist politician was seeking to pass a

00:13budget for next year that would require over €40 billion worth of savings, in an effort

00:19to reduce France's soaring debt.

00:23Unpopular with lawmakers and with his exit looming, Bayrou issued a final warning.

00:28Dear lawmakers, you have the power to make the government fall, but you cannot erase

00:35reality.

00:37Reality will remain inescapable, spending will continue to rise even more, and the burden

00:44of debt that's already unbearable will become ever heavier and ever more costly.

00:53From the far left to the far right, political parties from across the spectrum warned that

00:57they'd be voting against Bayrou's plans, which they deemed to be too heavy on French workers.

01:03A way of also increasing pressure on President Emmanuel Macron, who's been working with a

01:09minority government since last year.

01:12I believe that Emmanuel Macron must have the perfect lucidity to realize that he lost the

01:16elections a year ago, that the desire for change among the French people is considerable, and

01:21that he's largely responsible for the financial situation in which we find ourselves.

01:26The country's debt has reached 114% of its GDP, making it Europe's third highest behind

01:33Greece and Italy.

01:35And crucially, France has been in debt for the last 50 years.

01:40But faced with continuous turmoil, governments have been unable to make the changes that they

01:43sought.

01:44I'd wish that over the 18 months that lie ahead, we may make use of this time and not see months

01:53of repeated deadlock.

01:56We need to seek common ground, address urgent matters, protect French people, and prepare

02:03for the future.

02:07Just like Gabriel Attal and Michel Barnier, François Bayrou joins the growing list of Prime Ministers

02:12having served for just a few months under Emmanuel Macron.

02:17Bayrou will be handing in his resignation on Tuesday, as the President will be left to

02:21nominate another Prime Minister who, against all odds, may find unanimity across Parliament.

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