French lawmakers toppled the government in a no-confidence vote on Monday, plunging Europe's second-largest economy into renewed political crisis and forcing President Emmanuel Macron to seek his fourth prime minister in just a year.

Prime Minister François Bayrou was ousted in a lopsided 364–194 vote. The 74-year-old centrist, appointed by Macron last December, had staked his survival on a budget plan requiring deep spending cuts to reduce debt. Expecting lawmakers to rally behind fiscal discipline, Bayrou instead provoked opponents across the spectrum, who seized the vote to unite against him.

By law, Bayrou's minority government must now submit its resignation after less than nine months in office. The collapse fuels uncertainty and raises the risk of prolonged gridlock at a time wh

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