On September 10, mass protests took place across France against the austerity measures proposed by Prime Minister Francois Bayrou, who had already lost his post by that point.
Public anger was triggered by the draft 2026 budget he had prepared. Bayrou proposed reducing the budget deficit from 5.8% to 4.6% of GDP. According to his calculations, this would require France to save 43.8 billion euros.
The plan included freezing the indexation of social benefits and pensions, limiting spending on public health insurance, cutting the number of civil servants, and abolishing two national public holidays: Easter Monday and May 8, Victory in Europe Day.
Opposition to these proposals came not only from people taking to the streets, but also from political forces across the spectrum. Bayrou’s initiatives were criticized by both right-wing and left-wing parties.
As a result, on September 8, the National Assembly passed a vote of no confidence in Francois Bayrou. President Emmanuel Macron then appointed Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu as the new head of government.
Whether the new prime minister will be able to reduce the national debt, estimated at 3.3 trillion euros, while also keeping his cabinet politically stable remains unclear.