French President Emmanuel Macron is seeking his fifth prime minister in less than two years, Reuters reported, citing News.bg.
The move comes after opposition parties united to oust center-right Prime Minister Francois Bayrou over his unpopular budget austerity plans.
Bayrou, who suffered a 364-194 defeat in a confidence vote in parliament yesterday, will formally submit his resignation to Macron today. Whoever the president chooses to succeed him will face the near-impossible task of uniting parliament and finding a way to pass a budget for next year.
Defense Minister Sebastien Le Corneille has been touted as a possible candidate for the job. Other options include a center-left candidate or a technocrat.
There are no rules about who Macron should choose, or how quickly. The 47-year-old president, who has been in office since 2017, will name his new prime minister in the next few days, his office said.
The Socialists were among those who said it was their turn to govern. "I would like it to be the left, the greens. "We must take power," Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure said.
Meanwhile, the far-right National Rally has repeated its call for early parliamentary or presidential elections. Something Macron has ruled out for now. The president's decision last year to call early parliamentary elections has only led to an even more fragmented parliament.
The country is also preparing for the anti-government "Block Everything" protests tomorrow. But the lack of centralized leadership among the protesters means it is difficult to predict how large or destructive they will be.
Trade unions have declared a day of strikes and protests on September 18.