FILE PHOTO: French President Emmanuel Macron waits for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to welcome him for a summit of the "Coalition of the Willing", at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, September 4, 2025. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier/File photo
French far-right leader and member of parliament Marine Le Pen, President of the French far-right National Rally (Rassemblement National - RN) party parliamentary group, talks to journalists in the Salle des Quatre colonnes room as she arrives at the National Assembly in Paris, the day after parliament voted to bring down the government over its plans for taming the budget deficit, France, September 9, 2025. REUTERS/Tom Nicholson
A view shows the National Assembly in Paris, the day after parliament voted to bring down the government over its plans for taming the budget deficit, France, September 9, 2025. REUTERS/Tom Nicholson
A view shows the National Assembly in Paris, the day after parliament voted to bring down the government over its plans for taming the budget deficit, France, September 9, 2025. REUTERS/Tom Nicholson

By Dominique Vidalon and Michel Rose

PARIS (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron is seeking his fifth h prime minister in less than two years after opposition parties united to oust centre-right Prime Minister Francois Bayrou over his unpopular plans for budget tightening.

Bayrou's nine-month premiership ended on Monday night when he lost a parliamentary confidence vote.

On Tuesday afternoon, he submitted his resignation to Macron, according to a government website, which added that Bayrou and his government will stay on in a caretaker capacity until a new government is named.

Whoever Macron picks to succeed him will face the near-impossible task of uniting parliament to pass next year's budget. France is under pressure to lower a deficit that stands at nearly double the European Union's 3% ceiling, and a debt pile equivalent to 114% of GDP.

Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu's name was among those circulating for the next prime minister, with Macron also potentially looking at someone from the centre-left or a technocrat.

There are no rules governing whom the president should choose, or how fast, though a government source said that Macron, who has been in office since 2017, may appoint his new prime minister later on Tuesday.

Jordan Bardella, the president of the far-right National Rally (RN) party, was the most popular choice for France's next prime minister, according to an RTL poll published on Tuesday.

Some 43% of those surveyed would like to see him get the job, while RN boss Marine Le Pen and conservative Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau each received 36% of positive responses.

The RN is pushing for Macron to either resign or call a snap legislative election. Polls show a vast majority of voters would welcome either outcome, even if Macron has ruled out resigning. His decision to call a snap election last year delivered a fragmented parliament that has made basic governance challenging.

The Socialists said it was their turn to try.

"We need to claim power," Socialist Party chief Olivier Faure told France Inter radio.

'BLOCK EVERYTHING'

French businesses are worried about the impact of the political crisis.

"The fall of the government adds to months of political instability that have already undermined economic confidence," said Maya Noël, of tech lobby France Digitale. "In the innovation sector, this instability has an immediate cost: it slows down investment and hiring."

The country was also gearing up for so-called "Block Everything" protests on Wednesday, which have mushroomed on social media in a potential echo of widespread anti-Macron "Yellow Vest" protests that shook the country in 2018.

The protesters have no centralized leadership, meaning it is hard to assess how big or disruptive the demonstrations may be.

Paris police chief Laurent Nunez told BFM TV that 80,000 police would be deployed across the country, with authorities fearing attempts to block some main roads and train stations, and possible violent actions.

Labour unions have also announced a day of strikes and protests on September 18.

(Reporting by Benoit Van Overstraeten, Dominique Vidalon, Florence Loeve, Michel Rose, Zhifan Liu, Stephane Mahe, Marco Trujillo, Dominique Patton; Writing by Ingrid Melander; Editing by Frances Kerry)