Share<\/a><\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n Show key events only<\/p>\n Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/p>\n Bayrou closes debate as vote on confidence in his government about to get under way<\/p>\n We\u2019re nearing the end of the debate, and Bayrou is now back speaking from the podium.<\/p>\n He calls out some of the more radical language in the debate, thanks his ministers, and reiterates some of the main points from his earlier speech saying it\u2019s \u201ca moment of truth\u201d \u2013 but this is unlikely to make aby substantial difference at this stage.<\/p>\n We will now go ahead with the vote, which is expected to take 30 minutes, and will close 6.50pm local time (5.50pm UK).<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Mathilde Panot, for the hard-left France<\/a> Unbowed, quickly shatters Attal\u2019s hope for any consensus-based politics as she goes all out against Bayrou and his government.<\/p>\n She says her group is pleased to \u201cnever endorsed a single one of your budgets,\u201d accusing successive governments of \u201cleading us into the wall.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe do not share your diagnosis, and even less so your remedies,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n She closely links her criticism of Bayrou and Macron, saying towards the end of her speech: \u201cThe president doesn\u2019t want to change his policy, so we will have to change the president.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a012.07 EDT<\/p>\n Attal hails Bayrou for his \u201cdesire of transparency and frankness,\u201d as he says while \u201cnone of the MPs in my group will vote to give the government a blank cheque, \u2026 [they] will vote for the general interest in stability.\u201d<\/p>\n He calls for a broader, honest debate on the budget in the spirit of consensus.<\/p>\n \u201cBringing down the government will not resolve either the challenges facing France<\/a> or the problems of the French people,\u201d he repeats, warning it would only \u201cset our country back a little further.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a011.56 EDT<\/p>\n Gabriel Attal, who served as France\u2019s prime minister between January and September 2024, is up next.<\/p>\n He warns that the French are increasingly disenchanted with politics and parliamentary democracy, \u201cat the risk of playing with fire.\u201d<\/p>\n He says \u201cwe are living through an exceptional moment in our history,\u201d and insists \u201cFrance cannot get stuck every month.\u201d \u201cEvery month of uncertainty or indecision is a greater threat to the future of the French people,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n But he warns against some people pursuing \u201ca scorched earth policy,\u201d with political posturing and chaos taking precedence over national interest.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not up to the French to solve the problems of parliament, but up to parliament to solve the problems of the French in front of them,\u201d he quips.<\/p>\n He says that bringing a government would always carries \u201ca political cost, a cost for France,\u201d as he lists practical consequences of not passing a budget \u2013 including for the country\u2019s defence, army, and the broader public sector.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Le Pen ends on a strong note, saying that the government should \u201cnot wait for the RN to follow you in your fiscal and immigration madness,\u201d as she openly pushes for snap elections.<\/p>\n She says \u201cif the people honour us with a clear mandate \u2026 we will go to Matignon to implement, without waiting for the presidential election, a national recovery program for change that can no longer wait.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Le Pen urges Macron to dissolve parliament, call snap election<\/p>\n Le Pen says that France needs \u201ca reset\u201d to \u201crestart the machine burdened by bugs,\u201d as he insists that Macron should resign in response.<\/p>\n President of Rassemblement National parliamentary group Marine Le Pen delivers a speech following prime minister\u2019s general policy statement at the National Assembly in Paris. Photograph: Bertrand Guay\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cBut since this decision depends solely on him \u2026 I don\u2019t expect anything on this point,\u201d she concedes.<\/p>\n Instead, she makes a case for dissolving the assembly and calling a snap election, saying this power granted to the president was meant to be \u201can institutional lever, to break the deadlock.\u201d<\/p>\n She acknowledges rumours that Macron has no intention of doing that, but insists \u201che must act out of duty \u2026 and in the best interest of the country.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEverything suggests that legally, politically, and even morally, that dissolution is not an option, but an obligation,\u201d she argues.<\/p>\n She claims that continuing paralysis of the government could turn into a broader crisis, making a passing reference to the 10 September Block Everything movement.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a011.40 EDT<\/p>\n Le Pen blasts Bayrou’s government, decades of alleged mismanagement of public affairs<\/p>\n The National Rally\u2019s Marine Le Pen is speaking now.<\/p>\n She says the parliament faces \u201ca special political moment,\u201d as she says \u201cthose in charge are forced to confront the disastrous results\u201d of decades of mismanagement the consequences of which will affect the generations to come.<\/p>\n She says \u201cwhat will be remembered above all is the unwavering and unwelcome solidarity of the former political forces\u201d who are responsible for the state of affairs.<\/p>\n Le Pen says the debate marks the \u201cthe end of the agony of a phantom government,\u201d which she says \u201cwasn\u2019t governing, but merely administering\u201d the country.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Back to France<\/a>, Marine Tondelier, the head of the Green party, also doesn\u2019t seem to be too convinced by Bayrou\u2019s speech earlier today.<\/p>\n In a post on X, she said<\/a> it was a \u201clacklustre finale,\u201d noting that his speech was \u201cshorter than expected\u201d making it look like \u201che wasn\u2019t even trying to convince anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Norway heads to the polls in highly polarised \u2018Maga-fication\u2019 election Nordic correspondent<\/p>\n In other big news today, Norway goes to the polls on Monday after an unusually close-fought and polarised election dominated by the cost of living, wealth taxes, oil fund investment in Israel and relations with Donald Trump.<\/p>\n Voters cast their ballots in a voting booth in Slattum near Oslo, Norway. Photograph: Javad Parsa\/NTB\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n There has been a surge in support for the populist rightwing Progress party led by Sylvi Listhaug, in what has been described by some as \u201cthe Maga-fication\u201d of Norwegian politics. In the event of a rightwing victory, Listhaug could become prime minister.<\/p>\n Polling averages for Norway general election in September 2025<\/a><\/p>\n But according to polls, the most probable result is a narrow win for the centre-left, meaning a likely continuation of the minority Labour government led by Jonas Gahr St\u00f8re, who has been prime minister since 2021, with the former Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg, one of Norway\u2019s most popular politicians, as finance minister.<\/p>\n If, however, Labour does win they could face drawn out negotiations with smaller leftwing parties, particularly over oil fund investment in Israel<\/a>, which has led to Stoltenberg coming under heavy scrutiny in recent weeks.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n After a speech by Cyrielle Chatelain for the Green party\u2019s parliamentary group and a brief break \u2013 just 12 minutes \u2013 the debate is back under way, with Marc Fesneau speaking now, for the Democrats group.<\/p>\n French prime minister Francois Bayrou gives his speech as his government faces a vote of confidence at the French National Assembly in Paris, France. Photograph: Yoan Valat\/EPAShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a010.53 EDT<\/p>\n We have got at least 10 leaders to go before the vote, including some big hitters, so I will keep monitoring the debate to bring you the key lines.<\/p>\n You can also keep watching it on our live stream (in French) below:<\/p>\n Wauquiez also talks about the instability \u201ceating up\u201d French politics, warning it\u2019s an \u201ceconomic poison\u201d affecting the state.<\/p>\n He makes a specific reference to the 10 September protests, warning that in his view \u201cthe far left is the primary political danger\u201d for France<\/a>.<\/p>\n He says his party engaged with Bayrou with its proposals, but \u201chave never heard back.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou made a choice. I respect it, but I never ask the deputies in my group to vote against their mind,\u201d he says, as he hints they will divide into those backing the government \u201cwithout any enthusiasm,\u201d and those rejecting it and feeling their voices were not heard.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Laurent Wauquiez is up next, speaking for the Republican Right.<\/p>\n![\"Miranda](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Miranda_Bryant_Next_Gen.png\")
Miranda Bryant<\/p>\n![\"French](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1757348948_665_6000.jpg\")
French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou faces a vote of confidence \u2013 watch liveShare<\/a><\/p>\n