France’s Bayrou Warns Snap Polls Won’t End Crisis Ahead of Confidence Vote

French Prime Minister François Bayrou on Wednesday cautioned that dissolving parliament and calling snap legislative elections would not restore stability, as he prepares to face a high-stakes confidence vote on September 8 that he is widely expected to lose.

Bayrou’s surprise move to seek a confidence vote has raised fears of prolonged political and financial turmoil. Should his government fall, he would be forced to resign along with his cabinet. President Emmanuel Macron could either reappoint him, name a new premier — his seventh since 2017 — or call fresh elections to break the deadlock that has hobbled France for over a year.

The vote follows months of bitter disputes over a budget plan aimed at saving €43.8 billion ($51 billion). Both the far right and the hard left have vowed not to back Bayrou, leaving him with slim chances of survival.

“The economic situation is worsening every year in an intolerable way,” Bayrou told TF1, warning that young people would “be the victims if we create chaos.” He insisted he was open to negotiations with opposition parties but ruled out snap elections as a path to stability.

Analysts say Bayrou has little hope of winning without a dramatic shift in political alignments. He himself admitted that “on the face of it, we cannot obtain this confidence.”

Former Prime Minister Édouard Philippe, a centrist heavyweight eyeing the 2027 presidential race, said that if the stalemate persists, another dissolution of the National Assembly may be unavoidable. The last elections, in mid-2024, left Macron’s bloc weakened, with Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally emerging as the largest party.

Macron has publicly expressed “full support” for Bayrou, who at 74 has vowed to “fight like a dog” to keep his post. But divisions within the presidential camp are deepening, with some allies now considering new elections “inevitable.”

Meanwhile, a broad anti-government campaign branded “Bloquons tout” (“Let’s block everything”) is calling for a nationwide shutdown on September 10, two days after the confidence vote.