French MPs oust government in 'historic' vote of no confidence

French lawmakers have voted to dismiss the government of the country's Prime Minister, Michel Barnier, in a vote of no confidence triggered by the approval of the 2025 budget without a parliamentary vote.

The vote of no confidence in the government, held on Wednesday, was the first of its kind in France since 1962.The French parliament has dismissed the government of Prime Minister Michel Barnier, showing him the door to resign just 91 days after taking office.

President Emmanuel Macron appointed Barnier in September after early elections in which no party won a majority of parliamentary seats.Macron, who has vowed to stay in power until the end of his term in 2027, now has to appoint a new prime minister. Barnier's dismissal puts France in another political quandary.

The motion of no confidence in the French government was presented due to tensions over next year's austerity budget.  Marine Le Pen of the far-right National Front party said her government's budget had failed to "address the causes of the growing security concerns and crime that plague the country."

This is the first vote of no confidence in the French government since the defeat of Georges Pompidou's government in 1962, when Charles de Gaulle was the country's president.