In his speech to the nation, Emmanuel Macron ruled out resigning before the end of his term. Instead, he announced that he would appoint a new prime minister within days, who would form a new government.
The new prime minister's first task will be to draft a new temporary budget that will apply until a long-term one can be established next year.
At the same time, Macron attacked those who voted to bring down the government.
The far-right and far-left united in an anti-republican front, says Macron.
Submitted Resignation
Earlier in the day, Michel Barnier arrived at the Élysée Palace in Paris to formally submit his resignation to the president.
However, along with the other ministers in the government, Barnier will remain in place during a transition period, until a new government has been appointed, Macron's office announced according to AFP.
Wants Left-Wing Candidate
France's leading left-wing party, La France Insoumise (LFI), will only accept a new prime minister if it is a left-wing candidate.
If Emmanuel Macron does not appoint a prime minister proposed by NFP (the left-wing alliance Nouvelle Fondation Populaire), we will automatically reject the government, says LFI's group leader in the National Assembly, Mathilde Panot, in an interview with TV channel LCI.
Michel Barnier's government was brought down in a vote of no confidence on Wednesday evening, after both the left and far-right voted in favor of it. The government was formed with a weak parliamentary basis after the summer elections, on the condition that the opposition on both sides would not unite in a vote of no confidence.
NFP became the largest group in the National Assembly after the election and put forward Lucie Castets as its candidate for prime minister. However, she was deemed unlikely to gather a majority, and Macron went ahead with a new, more right-leaning government formation with more support from the traditional right-wing party Republicans.
