Mr Macron seems to want to appoint a successor swiftly. He needs a new team in order to use special measures to roll over this year’s budget provisions, without inflation adjustments, into 2025. Various veteran centrists or conservatives could be stop-gap options.

France’s government fell after MPs voted to oust prime minister Michel Barnier’s administration and plunge the country into fresh political turmoil and without a budget. The 73-year-old former EU chief Brexit negotiator’s departure came after just three months in office and presents Emmanuel Macron with a power vacuum with over two years of his

But the political fallout is potentially greater. Macron is in danger of losing political control altogether, as the parliament continues to defy him. On the European and world stage, the president already seems diminished, a far cry from the confident and implausibly youthful leader of just a few years ago, bubbling with energy and ideas.

French President Emmanuel Macron aims to install a new prime minister quickly if his government falls on Wednesday, three sources told Reuters.