By Athena Papakosta

O Michel Barnier he would be the man who would take her out France from the political and economic impasse. In the end, however, it is the man who has been the victim of this. He did not manage to make the political and fiscal storm in the country stop and now France threatens the Eurozone as well. After all, as he himself explained during his last speech as Prime Minister to the French National Assembly, he himself is fired but the debt will not cease to exist.

On Wednesday night, the Far Right allied with the United Popular Front of the Left and with a majority of 331 votes they overthrew the minority government which counted only 90 days of life.

It is the first French government to lose a vote of confidence since 1962 and the shortest-lived in the history of the Fifth Republic. Now France, the second strongest economy in the euro zone, is plunged into a new period of political uncertainty.

After the moment of truth, however, comes the time of decisions. THE Emmanuel Macron he is facing the biggest political crisis during not only his current, but also his previous presidency. No one knows how it will be possible to reach an agreement on the 2025 budget, while the French president will also have to appoint a new prime minister of common acceptance.

Given that it is impossible, based on the Constitution, to hold elections earlier than next summer, and given also that President Macron is unlikely to submit his resignation (despite calls from the Left), the Elysee has before him a difficult equation. A prime minister is being sought and the budget is pending.

One option is for Emmanuel Macron to give in to the far-right’s demands on the budget and appoint a prime minister that Le Pen will approve. Of course, this will mean that any attempt to limit the country’s fiscal deficit ceases.

Another option could be the solution of a government of technocrats, however analysts believe that without the required legalization in front of the French parliament, it would hardly be able to survive.

A more likely option is for the French president to ask Michel Barnier to stay on as caretaker prime minister and manage a temporary budget for current needs, with all major decisions postponed to 2025. That way France avoids a shutdown but, again, it says goodbye to the 60 billion in cuts that would come from reducing government spending and increasing tax revenue.

Of course, the caretaker government could submit a new draft budget, but it must be voted on by December 20. If this does not happen and the solution of activating Article 49 paragraph 3 is chosen again, then the country will again be faced with a new impasse and in uncharted waters.

A last resort is to trigger Article 16 of the French constitution, which gives the president extensive powers in crisis situations and would allow Macron to pass the budget himself.

The president of France will deliver a speech today at 9 pm, Greek time, in the hope that it will be enlightening for the next day in the country. At 11 am Greek time, he will welcome Michel Barnier to the Elysee, who will submit his resignation to him.

It is already known that the French president would not wish to stand by US President-elect Donald Trump without a government during the inauguration of Notre-Dame de Paris this weekend. How he will manage to settle this backlog in 24 hours also remains a wish-but-a-necessary-evil as time is running out with markets holding their finger on the trigger.

The first names are already on the table for the new “elect” who will lead the also new government structure.

Some are talking about the confidant of the French president, Sébastien Lecournoux, the French defense minister. Others for his ally in the center, François Bairroux, or even for Bernard Cazeneuve, the former socialist prime minister.

The choice will be made by Macron himself but the French National Assembly will again have the final say, since as in the case of Michel Barnier’s centre-right minority government, the next government will also be at the mercy of the New Popular Front of the Left and far-right faction National Rally that together will be able to… drop it at any time. And the question of whether Macron will be able to last until 2027, when his second presidential term ends, arises.