Who will take over? Macron urgently looks for a new prime minister to resolve the stalemate over the French budget.

Due to the devastating defeat of French Prime Minister Franois Beru in a vote of confidence in the National Assembly (Lower House of Parliament), President Macron needs to appoint a new Prime Minister within the next few days to avoid a new political crisis. Beru officially submitted his resignation to Macron on Tuesday. Regardless of who Macron chooses as the new Prime Minister, that person will need to form a new government and try to push the budget through the heavily divided National Assembly - a task that led to the resignation of the previous two Prime Ministers. Although there are no shortages of candidates willing to take on the role of Prime Minister, finding someone who can bridge the gap between the various parties is no easy task. Kathryn Kleppinger, a French studies professor at George Washington University, stated in an interview, "Even deciding which party to choose from for a candidate has become a problem. I fear that the future situation will only be more of the same." The new Prime Minister will be the fifth in France in the last two years, reflecting the severe division in French politics and the difficulty in reconciling differences between different factions. Several potential candidates for Prime Minister mentioned in the French media come from Beru's government, making it difficult for them to gain support from parties other than the centrist party that Beru belongs to, with Defence Minister Sebastien Le Cornu (who was a top contender for the position of Prime Minister in the last cabinet reshuffle), Labour Minister Catherine Watrin, and Finance Minister Eric Lombard among them. Apart from Macron's core camp, Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure has expressed his readiness to take on the role of Prime Minister. Potential candidates from former Socialist Party members include Bernard Cazeneuve, who was Prime Minister during Franois Hollande's presidency, and Pierre Moscovici, the current head of the National Audit Office at the age of 67. If there are no suitable political figures available, Macron may choose a Prime Minister with a purely technical bureaucratic background, but this would be akin to admitting that France's political process is at a standstill. After the confidence vote results were announced, the Socialist Party quickly stated its willingness to participate in cabinet formation. Faure stated, "I think it is time for the left to govern again, and to say goodbye to the policies of the past eight years." He was referring to the eight years of Macron's presidency. However, outgoing Interior Minister Bruno Le Maire (also serving as the chair of the centre-right party 'The Republicans') explicitly refused to join a government led by the Socialist Party. Extreme left leader Jean-Luc Mlenchon also stated that he would not support a government led by Faure. The current political crisis stems from Macron's decision a year ago to hold early elections to contain the rise of the far-right, a decision that instead weakened centrist forces. Since then, the French CAC40 index (including leading companies such as LVMH, Airbus, and L'Oral) has fallen by 3.3%, while the European Stoxx 600 index has risen by 5.4% in the same period, and the German DAX index has risen by 25% (excluding dividends). On Tuesday, financial markets reacted relatively calmly. French government bond markets opened with little volatility, with CAC40 index futures and European Stoxx 50 index futures showing a slight decline. Michael Nizard, head of alternative assets and hedge funds at Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management, said, "Regardless of how the current political crisis unfolds, the likelihood of major public finance reforms in France remains low. It seems as if the financial markets have resigned themselves to this, as long as the budget deficit does not further deteriorate, it may be acceptable." During his term, Beru had proposed a plan that included 44 billion in spending cuts and tax increases with the aim of reducing France's fiscal deficit from the projected 5.4% in 2026 to 4.6%. He also proposed canceling two public holidays to reduce spending, but this proposal was not popular among the people. According to Beru, France's fiscal deficit is the highest among eurozone member states, with debt increasing at a rate of 5,000 per second. He also stated that France's debt servicing costs next year will reach 75 billion. The extreme right-wing party National Rally led by Marine Le Pen and the left-wing party 'Unbowed France' have both called for new parliamentary elections, but Macron has ruled out this possibility by announcing that he will appoint a new Prime Minister. There are also voices calling for Macron's resignation, but he has firmly stated that he will serve until the end of his term in 2027. National Rally chairman Jordan Bardella said on Tuesday, "For us, there is no other option but early elections. No matter who Macron appoints as the new Prime Minister, he will eventually be overthrown." French unions plan to strike on September 18, putting pressure on Macron to form a new government before then. In addition, a loosely organized protest is planned for September 10. Fitch Ratings is set to release its latest assessment report on France's credit rating on Friday. According to the Constitution, the President has the sole power to appoint the Prime Minister with no time limit. Previously, it took Macron two months to appoint Michel Barnier as Prime Minister, but Barnier resigned after only 90 days in office. After Barnier's dismissal, Macron took over a week to appoint Beru as the new Prime Minister. Once appointed, the Prime Minister must submit a list of cabinet members, which becomes official after being approved by Macron. Former Prime Minister and chair of the National Assembly, Gabriel Attal, said, "The most pressing task now is to pass the budget by December 31. Holding early elections again would be the worst solution."