French government collapses in no-confidence vote

French lawmakers ousted Prime Minister Michel Barnier with a no-confidence vote in the government Wednesday, the first time since 1962.

Parliament members on the far right and far left joined together, with 331 members citing no-confidence in the leader, surpassing the minimum requirement to oust him by 43 votes.

“As this mission may soon come to an end, I can tell you that it will remain an honor for me to have served France and the French with dignity,” Barnier said in a statement after the vote, marking the end his four-month tenure, according to The Associated Press.

Barnier received pushback after trying to push through an unpopular budget proposal that aimed to reduce the country’s debt, cutting more than $60 billion in spending. It's unclear how the budget process will move forward now, with the National Assembly at an impasse entering the new year.

“This no-confidence motion … will make everything more serious and more difficult. That’s what I’m sure of,” Barnier said.

President Emmanuel Macron said he will not resign and is rumored to be planning a swift appointment of a new prime minister as soon as Saturday, when President-elect Trump will arrive for the reopening of the Notre Dame cathedral, according to The Associated Press.

But whoever he chooses will still have a divided parliament and tensions with the far-right National Rally party, which made major gains in a snap election called by Macron this summer.

Marine Le Pen, leader of the National Rally party, called Barnier's budget "toxic for the French".

"The only dignified solution for those who were given the mandate to protect them, was to oppose this budget," she said, according to the BBC.

Le Pen did not call for Macron's resignation, unlike the hard left France Unbowed (LFI) party.

"With the no-confidence motion, all of the politics of Emmanuel Macron have been defeated and we demand that he goes," LFI member Mathilde Panot said, according to Reuters.

New legislative elections can’t be held until July, and the next presidential elections are scheduled for 2027.

While French law protects against a government shutdown, the threat of political instability sent the euro into a downward spiral, falling 4 percent. 

Some French legislators are pushing for a stopgap-style bill that would allow spending provisions to roll over into next year, while others vehemently oppose the option.