Shit and now France. Le Pen is causing chaos.

[themaguffin]

No-confidence vote topples French government, plunges country into chaos

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/12/04/france-no-confidence-vote-government-collapse/]

A no-confidence vote in the French parliament on Wednesday has triggered the collapse of the government, plunging the country into political chaos and stoking anxiety about the euro zone’s second biggest economy. Prime Minister Michel Barnier’s administration becomes the shortest-serving government in the modern French republic and the first in six decades to be toppled by a no-confidence vote. Although the motion was put forward by a leftwing alliance, the swing votes of Marine Le Pen and her far-right lawmakers, wielding unprecedented influence, were key to its passage.

The trouble is, there’s no obvious cast of characters who could form a stable government. New legislative elections that might alter the political dynamics can’t happen before summer. And without a government in place, France couldn’t address the gaping hole in its public finances or resolve uncertainty that has the potential to spook markets and weigh on other euro-zone economies.

[woodsprite]

1. And that is probably why Trump wants to make that trip.

Either that or to steal some of the attention from Jill on her last trip abroad as First Lady.

[tritsofme]

2. Still don't understand why snap elections are not an option, must be some quirk in their system.

[Voltaire2]

7. because this Assembly was seated through a snap election.

Article 12: The president of the republic may, after consulting the prime minister and the presidents of the assemblies, declare the National Assembly dissolved. A general election shall take place not less than twenty days and not more than forty days after the dissolution. The National Assembly shall convene as of right on the second Thursday following its election. Should it so convene outside the period prescribed for the ordinary session, a session shall be called by right for a fifteen-day period. No further dissolution shall take place within a year following this election.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_France

The president can't just keep dissolving the assembly until he gets one he likes.

[tritsofme]

10. Somewhat understandable. France obviously has quite a unique structure, but this seems a big deficiency.

In parliamentary democracies, a vote of no confidence typically means the body is dead, and new elections triggered.

This sort of zombie state where no stable government is able to be formed is obviously unsustainable over any period of time. I suppose that’s why the European press is describing the situation in crisis terms.

[Moostache]

3. Its time to get VERY worried...

Pay attention closely to reputable sources of news... South Korea, Israel, France, the United States... these are among the richest, supposedly stable democracies on the planet and all are in varying states of chaos and disfunction. Russia, Turkey, Iran, North Korea... all are the antagonists looking to spread fascism and totalitarian rule.

The truth is about to be a precious commodity.

[Voltaire2]

4. The problem is that Macron refused to work with the left alliance that won the election.

Instead he pushed through a center right prime minister and continued center right initiatives that quite obviously were going to fail. That move required the tacit support of the Rassemblement National, and quite obviously that was a serious mistake.

[Voltaire2]

6. Some context from Le Monde.

The Socialists' consciences are less tranquil, but the prime minister has done nothing in the last three months to try and build solid bridges with the moderate left. The government and its only star, Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, has been obsessed with winning back voters who had gone over to the RN, at the cost of outbidding them on immigration issues. With no majority, this was a particularly dangerous game to play. The trap closed.

https://www.lemonde.fr/en/opinion/article/2024/12/04/marine-le-pen-s-trap-is-closing_6735159_23.html

[malaise]

8. THIS

Eff him too

[muriel_volestrangler]

5. It was left and right reacting to Barnier's dodgy move

He tried to get a budget through without parliamentary approval. Given that the left really won the parliamentary elections, but Macron made the centre-right Barnier PM, this is not "chaos", but the failure of Macron's attempt to control things without popular support.

[onetexan]

9. Reuters: Macron aims to install new French PM quickly if government falls, sources say

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/macron-aims-install-new-french-pm-quickly-if-government-falls-sources-say-2024-12-0

PARIS, Dec 4 (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron aims to install a new prime minister quickly if his government falls on Wednesday, three sources told Reuters.
One of the sources said Macron hoped to have someone in place as soon as Saturday, when an A-list guest list including U.S. President-elect Donald Trump are due to gather in Paris for the re-opening of the Notre-Dame Cathedral.
"Nothing has been decided," the Elysee said in response to a request for comment.
After a snap election this summer yielded an unruly hung parliament, Macron spent weeks in drawn-out talks with figures from across the political spectrum, before eventually settling on Michel Barnier to head a government. One source said Macron aimed to move quickly this time to avoid spooking markets.
Macron has not yet settled on a name, the sources said, but figures on his list include leftist Bernard Cazeneuve, former minister Xavier Bertrand, and Armed Forces Minister Sébastien Lecornu. The president was working on the name as he flew back to Paris from a trip to Saudi Arabia, one source said.
It remains to be seen if Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally party would be willing to back a name proposed by Macron, or whether it would seek to topple the nominee with an immediate no-confidence motion, most likely in cahoots with the left.
The RN and the left are almost certain to bring Barnier's brief time in office to a close later on Wednesday, during a no-confidence vote following weeks of tensions to get the 2025 budget bill approved.
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Short article so i've posted all of it.