Ousted French PM Michel Barnier is the shortest-serving premier in over 60 years after losing no-confidence vote

French Prime Minister Michel Barnier became the shortest-serving premier since the founding of the fifth republic in 1958 as the far-right and the left-wing coalition joined hands on Wednesday to oust his government through a no-confidence vote over a budget dispute.

Michel Barier's controversial budget had proposed Euro 60 billion ($63 billion) in tax hikes and spending cuts, aiming to reduce the budget deficit to 5% of economic growth in 2025 from an estimated 6.1% this year.

“It’s the end of this ephemeral government," said far-right leader Marine Le Pen, who called the budget “toxic” for the French people. “To those who think I’m intent on choosing a policy of disaster through a vote of no confidence, I want to tell them that the disastrous policy would be not to censure such a budget,” she told lawmakers, according to news agency Bloomberg.

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Le Pen said the country needs a “budget acceptable to all” and expressed willingness to work with a new government provided they consulted her party, the National Rally, to draw the budget.

Shortest serving French PM

Michel Barnier became the first French Prime Minister to lose a no-confidence vote in over 60 years. The only other prime minister to be voted out of confidence was Georges Pompidou in 1962, who was reappointed with the backing of then-President Charles de Gaulle.

Barnier maintained composure ahead of the contentious no-confidence vote. “I'm not afraid. I've rarely been afraid in my political life,” said the 73-year-old.

The ousted prime minister has served as the foreign minister and twice as the European Union Commissioner in Brussels. Barnier is known for his successful role in negotiating the UK's exit from the bloc following a 2016 referendum.

Known for his “methodical” approach to work, Barnier admits to not being “a fun guy” and has little time for the "bluster" of younger colleagues.

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Barnier, who hails from the Haute Savoie region of the Alps, first became a member of France's parliament at the age of 27 in the 1970s and entered government in the mid-1990s under the then-president, the late Jacques Chirac.

The roots of the current crisis date back to June, when President Emmanuel Macron dissolved parliament and called for a snap election, seeking to rebound from a crushing defeat for his party in the European elections — where Le Pen’s National Rally won more than double the president’s party.

National Rally emerged as the largest party in parliament, and Le Pen became the country’s most influential power broker as his centrist coalition crumbled.

Following the June election, the lower house was split into three fiercely opposed blocs: a diminished centre supporting Macron, a leftist alliance and the far right led by Le Pen. That makeup won’t change as a new parliamentary election can’t be held until July.

(With inputs from Reuters)