1 hour ago France to get third PM in a year as Bayrou resigns after confidence vote

Prime minister hands in resignation after thousands of protesters gather to celebrate ousting and plan day of actionThe French prime minister, François Bayrou, has handed in his resignation after losing a confidence vote that has plunged France into government collapse and political crisis.Emmanuel Macron has said he will appoint a new prime minister in the coming days, who would then have to form a new government. This will be the third French prime minister in a year, whose first task will be the major challenge of agreeing a budget among a divided parliament. Continue reading...

Politics

5 h. ago France to get third PM in a year as Bayrou to resign after confidence vote

Prime minister to hand in resignation after thousands of protesters gather to celebrate ousting and plan day of actionBayrou to resign – latest updatesThe French prime minister, François Bayrou, will hand in his resignation on Tuesday after losing a confidence vote that has plunged France into government collapse and political crisis.Emmanuel Macron has said he will appoint a new prime minister in the coming days, who would then have to form a new government. This will be the third French prime minister in a year, whose first task will be the major challenge of agreeing a budget among a divided parliament. Continue reading...

Politics

20 h. ago François Bayrou ousted as French PM after losing confidence vote

Government collapses after Emmanuel Macron’s ally wins support of just 194 MPs with 364 againstFrançois Bayrou has been ousted in a confidence vote after only nine months as prime minister, collapsing his minority government and plunging France into a political crisis.Bayrou, 74, will hand his resignation to Emmanuel Macron, his longterm centrist ally, on Tuesday morning. The French president now faces the challenge of appointing his third prime minister in only one year, and the fifth since he began his second term of office in 2022. His office said he would make the decision “in the coming days”. Continue reading...

Politics

21 h. ago French government collapses as PM François Bayrou loses confidence vote

President Emmanuel Macron will look for a replacement who can break the budget impasse

Politics

21 h. ago French government collapses as MPs vote to oust prime minister

France plunged into a fresh political crisis as MPs vote to oust the prime minister Francois Bayrou

Politics

27 h. ago Samoa's first woman leader is ousted in an election following the collapse of her government

Samoa’s incumbent ruling party will return to power with a new leader at the helm after the country’s first woman prime minister was toppled in elections that followed months of political turmoil

Politics

57 h. ago France’s political crisis reveals deep rift between the people and their politicians

The likely fall of prime minister François Bayrou exposes a political malaise that is likely to sour French politics well beyond the 2027 presidential election as the far right exploits the momentAs the French government faces likely collapse in a confidence vote on Monday, plunging the eurozone’s second biggest economy and key diplomatic power into a domestic political crisis, Jonathan Denis, a 42-year-old a bank manager and health rights campaigner, was concerned about the terrible impact it will have on France’s dying and terminally ill.The centrist president Emmanuel Macron had promised assisted dying and improved palliative care would be the biggest social reform of his second term but the bill, which had been scheduled to go before the senate next month, now risks being delayed once more by the unpredictable revolving door of four prime ministers in just over three years. Continue reading...

Politics

7 d. ago France has a massive debt crisis. So why is it spending billions a year subsidising business? | Alexander Hurst

The government is on the brink of collapse over planned austerity. Instead it must face up to the costs of its unnecessarily rigid labour marketAs someone who has always been against austerity, I find France, with a national debt at 114% of GDP and a budget deficit of 5.8% of GDP, a conundrum. Despite years of denunciation from his left and far-right opponents that Macron has engaged in “ultraneoliberalism”, there hasn’t been any. Not on a macro level, anyway, where both French government spending (57.3% of GDP) and tax receipts (51.4% of GDP) are among the highest in the world, including social spending, which outpaces any of its European neighbours.At the same time, it’s impossible to have spent the past decade in France without encountering the widely shared perception and accusation that public services are in decline. Doctors and nurses denounce a labour shortage in public hospitals; people who live in rural areas denounce the closing of rural train lines; students and academic...

Economics

1 week ago Macron backs Bayrou and calls on budget critics to show responsibility

Spokesperson says government in ‘fighting spirit’ after PM called confidence vote he is expected to loseEmmanuel Macron has given his “full support” to France’s beleaguered prime minister, François Bayrou, who is expected to lose a confidence vote next month, which would be likely to cause the government to collapse.Macron chaired a cabinet meeting on Wednesday as France faces a fresh political crisis. The government spokesperson Sophie Primas said after the meeting that Macron fully supported Bayrou and the government was in a “fighting spirit”. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago France faces 'catastrophic' £2.85TRILLION 'debt explosion' meltdown as minister warns country is heading for IMF bailout with Emmanuel Macron's government on the verge of collapse

Eric Lombard, the Economy Minister, issued a stark warning that 'a risk exists' that the IMF will be forced to bail out Paris.

Politics

1 week ago Plan to intercept small boats threatened by potential collapse of French government

The French interior ministry has said it would implement the law change ‘this summer’ but concerns of delays have been raised

Politics

1 week ago Deal to restructure Puerto Rico power company debt crumbles as some bondholders walk away

A plan to restructure over $9 billion in debt for Puerto Rico's power company has hit a big snag

Economics

2 w. ago French stocks and bonds crumble as government faces collapse

French stocks and bonds continued to fall on Tuesday as a collapse of the country's minority government looked increasingly likely.

Politics

2 w. ago Use of short prison sentences to be reduced and well behaved inmates to be released early under new plans

"This Government inherited a prisons system days away from collapse..."

Events

2 w. ago UK’s third largest steelworks collapses putting 1,450 jobs at risk

The government has taken control of the plant until a buyer is found

Events

3 w. ago ‘Shut it down and start again’: staff disquiet as Alan Turing Institute faces identity crisis

Whistleblower warns UK’s top AI research body in danger of collapse due to threats over funding and new directionWhen the UK government announced the creation of the Alan Turing Institute in 2014 it promised a “fitting memorial” to the renowned computer scientist and artificial intelligence pioneer.More than a decade on, Britain’s leading AI institute is in turmoil as staff warn it may be in danger of collapse and ministers demand a shift in focus to defence and security work. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Government hires advisers to plan for potential Thames Water collapse

The embattled water company has been at threat of both nationalisation and collapse as its investors and creditors scramble to keep the group afloat.

Politics

3 w. ago Thames Water crisis plan drawn up by the Government in case of potential collapse

The environment secretary has signed off the appointment of FTI Consulting to assist with contingency planning for putting Britain's biggest water supplier into a special administration regime amid spiralling debts.

Politics

4 w. ago Government lines up insolvency firm in case of Thames Water collapse

Contingency plans could see Britain’s biggest water firm placed into a special administration regime.

Politics

last month Staff at UK’s top AI institute complain to watchdog about its internal culture

Whistleblowing complaint warns Alan Turing Institute is in danger of collapse due to government threats over fundsStaff at the UK’s leading artificial intelligence institute have raised concerns about the organisation’s governance and internal culture in a whistleblowing complaint to the charity watchdog.The Alan Turing Institute (ATI), a registered charity with substantial state funding, is under government pressure to overhaul its strategic focus and leadership after an intervention last month from the technology secretary, Peter Kyle. Continue reading...

Politics