French Parliament ousts second PM in less than a year, fueling instability

France's National Assembly is set to vote for a motion of no confidence in François Bayrou, less than a year after they did the same for Michel Barnier.

The French government was thrown into fresh turmoil Monday as lawmakers fired the prime minister, the latest leader tossed out by a deeply divided legislature.

Parliamentarians on the left and right ousted François Bayrou with a whopping 364-194 vote against him in a motion of no confidence. They are unhappy about his proposal to make drastic cuts of around 44 billion euros ($51 billion) to next year’s budget, an unpopular attempt to resolve France’s economic woes.

A statement from the Élysée Palace said that French President Emmanuel Macron will appoint a new prime minister "in the coming days."

After the vote, some politicians also called for Macron's ouster. “Bayrou has fallen. Victory and relief for the people," said Jean-Luc Melenchon, head of the radical left France Unbowed party. "Macron is now on the front line facing the people. He too must go.”

This was the second time in nine months that lawmakers in France’s National Assembly ousted a prime minister; Michel Barnier was deposed in a vote of no confidence in December. Before that, the last successful vote of no confidence was in 1962. It means Macron will be looking for his fifth prime minister in just 20 months.