France's Macron Vows to Finish Term    12/06 06:10

   

   PARIS (AP) -- French President Emmanuel Macron vowed Thursday to stay in 
office until the end of his term, due in 2027, and announced that he will name 
a new prime minister within days in efforts to overcome the political deadlock 
following the resignation of ousted Prime Minister Michel Barnier.

   Macron came out fighting a day after a historic no-confidence vote prompted 
by budget disputes at the National Assembly left France without a functioning 
government. He laid blame at the door of his opponents on the far right for 
bringing down Barnier's government.

   "They chose disorder," he said.

   The president said the far right and the far left had united in what he 
called "an anti-Republican front" and stressed: "I won't shoulder other 
people's irresponsibility."

   He said he'd name a new prime minister within days but gave no hints as to 
who that might be.

   Earlier in the day, Macron "took note" of Barnier's resignation after just 
three months in office -- the shortest tenure of any prime minister in modern 
French history.

   Macron acknowledges his own responsibility

   While critical of his political opponents, Macron also acknowledged what he 
described as his own responsibility in the chaos now shaking French politics 
and alarming financial markets.

   He revisited his decision in June to dissolve parliament. That precipitated 
the crisis, leading to legislative elections that produced the now hung 
parliament, divided between three minority blocs that do not have enough seats 
to govern alone.

   "I do recognize that this decision wasn't understood. Many criticized me for 
it," Macron said. However, he argued, "I believe it was necessary" to let 
French voters speak.

   The next priority is to pass a budget law

   Macron said the new prime minister "will be charged with forming a 
government of general interest."

   He confirmed that a special law will be presented by mid-December to enable 
the state to levy taxes from Jan. 1, based on this year's rules, and avoid a 
shutdown.

   "Public services will be operational, businesses will be able to work," he 
said.

   The new government will then prepare a budget law for 2025, which will allow 
France to invest as planned in its military, its justice and police -- and also 
to support struggling farmers, Macron said.

   How to achieve 'the impossible'

   Along with its own domestic political and financial difficulties -- not 
least France's ballooning levels of debt -- Macron noted that the country faces 
multiple international challenges, citing the wars in Ukraine and Middle East.

   He looked back at the Paris Olympics in July-August and ahead to the 
reopening this weekend of Notre Dame Cathedral, arguing that France can emerge 
from this latest political crisis if it sets its mind on it.

   "It's proof that we know how to do great things, that we know how to achieve 
the impossible," he said.

   "Twice this year, the world has admired us for this," he said, referring to 
the hosting of the Olympics and the restoration of Notre Dame. "Well, for the 
nation, we must do same thing."

   Pressure to act swiftly

   Macron faces the critical task of naming a replacement for Barnier capable 
of leading a minority government in a parliament where no party holds a 
majority. Yal Braun-Pivet, president of the National Assembly and a member of 
Macron's party, urged the president to move quickly.

   "I recommend he decide rapidly on a new prime minister," Braun-Pivet said 
Thursday on France Inter radio. "There must not be any political hesitation. We 
need a leader who can speak to everyone and work to pass a new budget bill."

   The process may prove challenging. French media have reported a shortlist of 
centrist candidates who might appeal to both sides of the political spectrum.

   Calls for Macron to step down

   The no-confidence vote has galvanized opposition leaders, with some 
explicitly calling for Macron's resignation.

   "I believe that stability requires the departure of the President of the 
Republic," Manuel Bompard, leader of the far-left France Unbowed party, said on 
BFM TV Wednesday night.

   Far-right National Rally leader Marine Le Pen, whose party holds the most 
seats in the Assembly, stopped short of calling for Macron's resignation but 
warned that "the pressure on the President of the Republic will get stronger 
and stronger."

   The French constitution does not call for a president to resign after his 
government was ousted by the National Assembly. It also says that new 
legislative elections cannot be held until at least July, creating a potential 
stalemate for policymakers.

   Economic uncertainty looms

   The political instability has heightened concerns about France's economy, 
particularly its debt, which could rise to 7% of GDP next year without 
significant reforms.

   Analysts say that Barnier's government downfall could push up French 
interest rates, digging the debt even further.

   Rating agency Moody's warned late Wednesday that the government's fall 
"reduces the likelihood of consolidating public finances" and worsens the 
political gridlock.

   Teachers' protest takes a political tone

   A planned protest by teachers against budget cuts in education took on a new 
tone Thursday, as demonstrators in Paris linked their demands to the political 
crisis.

   "Macron quit!" read a sign held by Dylan Quenon, a 28-year-old teacher at a 
middle school in Aubervilliers, just north of Paris.

   Quenon said Macron bears responsibility for what he described as the 
dismantling of public services such as schools. "The only way for this to 
change is to have him out of office," he said.

   Protesters expressed little hope that Macron's next appointee would reverse 
course.

   "I'm glad this government is falling, but it could possibly lead to 
something even worse," said lise De La Gorce, a 33-year-old teacher in Stains, 
north of Paris.