French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou opened a parliament session on Monday (September 8) ahead of a confidence vote he is expected to lose, which would lead to the fall of his current government.

Bayrou deemed the vote “historic” as he took the podium in Paris’ National Assembly. He reiterated there is an emergency to tackle France’s over-indebtedness, adding that it is urgent for the country to ramp up its production.

“Dear lawmakers, you have the power to make the government fall, but you cannot erase the reality. The reality will remain inescapable,” he said.

France's fourth prime minister in less than two years, Bayrou, faces defeat in Monday’s vote, tipping the euro zone's second-biggest economy further into political and economic paralysis.

The minority government's expected collapse looks set to deepen France's problems at a critical time for Europe, which is seeking unity in the face of Russia's war against Ukraine, an increasingly dominant China and trade tensions with the United States.

The turmoil also threatens France's ability to rein in its debt, with the risk of further credit downgrades looming as bond spreads - a gauge of the risk premium investors demand to hold French debt - widen.

France faces acute pressure to repair its finances, with last year's deficit nearly double the EU's 3% limit of economic output and public debt at 113.9% of GDP.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

SHOWS: PARIS, FRANCE (SEPTEMBER 8, 2025) (FRENCH NATIONAL ASSEMBLY - Access all)

1. VARIOUS OF FRENCH PRIME MINISTER, FRANCOIS BAYROU, WALKING TO PODIUM AS PARLIAMENT SESSION STARTS

2. BAYROU STANDING AT PODIUM

3. (SOUNDBITE) (French) FRENCH PRIME MINISTER, FRANCOIS BAYROU, SAYING:

"This moment of truth, as the head of government, alongside the opinion of the president (Emmanuel Macron), I wanted it. I wanted this moment, and some of you, probably most of you, the most sensible ones, thought it was unreasonable, that it was too big of a risk. But I think the exact opposite."

4. LAWMAKERS SEATED

5. (SOUNDBITE) (French) FRENCH PRIME MINISTER, FRANCOIS BAYROU, SAYING:

"The biggest risk is not to tackle this, to let things go on without any change, to do politics as usual, to let it last without making any decision that is required up to the moment when the irreparable comes, when we approach the edge of the cliff -- because what we are tackling today is not a political question, it is a historic question."

6. BAYROU SPEAKING

7. (SOUNDBITE) (French) FRENCH PRIME MINISTER, FRANCOIS BAYROU, SAYING:

"All these questions today depend on the one which is all fundamental, on the vital question. The vital emergency in our situation is in critical condition, on which our state, our independence, our public service, our social model depend - it's the question of putting our over-indebtedness under control. Your support being the minimum agreement without which I can't continue in my mission, I am asking the National Assembly about only one point that is crucial, an observation of the country's situation."

8. LAWMAKERS SEATED

9. (SOUNDBITE) (French) FRENCH PRIME MINISTER, FRANCOIS BAYROU, SAYING:

"And the addition to the deficit of billions of euros each year has led us to a crushing accumulation - 3,415 billion euros in debt at the exact moment we're speaking. This accumulation has a price. It's the hole that debt servicing makes each year, what we need to pay lenders for interests, and the part of the capital that we need to pay back - and this, we need to allot for it, otherwise it's bankruptcy. If we don't do so, we will no longer be able to borrow another cent, meaning we cannot live."

10. LAWMAKERS SEATED

11. (SOUNDBITE) (French) FRENCH PRIME MINISTER, FRANCOIS BAYROU, SAYING:

"Imagine what our family revenue and the state’s resources would be if we had 15 or 20 percent more resources to share, our salaries 15 to 20 percent higher and the states resources 15 to 30 percent higher. If we had the production capacity of our neighbours, France will have no deficit problem, it will have no debt problem, and so production is a national emergency.”

12. LAWMAKERS SEATED

13. (SOUNDBITE) (French) FRENCH PRIME MINISTER, FRANCOIS BAYROU, SAYING:

“Dear lawmakers, you have the power to make the government fall, but you cannot erase the reality. The reality will remain inescapable, the spending will continue to rise even more, and the burden of debt that’s already unbearable will become more and more heavy and more and more costly."

14. BAYROU AT PODIUM

15. BAYROU SPEAKING