SHOTLIST:

PARIS, FRANCE (SEPT. 3, 2025) (ANADOLU - ACCESS ALL)

1. VARIOUS OF FRENCH CABINET MEMBERS LEAVING FROM ELYSEE PALACE PARIS, FRANCE - SEPT. 3: French ministers gathered at the Elysee Palace on Wednesday, Sept. 3, for the final Cabinet meeting ahead of a confidence vote set for Sept. 8.

French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou’s minority government faces collapse after he called a vote of no confidence for Sept. 8.

Bayrou is seeking support for a plan to save nearly €44 billion ($51 billion) as part of efforts to reduce France’s soaring public debt, which now stands at 113% of the country's GDP.

France also has one of the bloc’s largest budget deficits at 5.8%.
Warning that the country is “on the brink of over-indebtedness,” Bayrou urged lawmakers to choose “responsibility over chaos.”

Opposition parties across the spectrum, from the far-left France Unbowed (LFI) to the far-right National Rally (RN), as well as the Socialists, have vowed to vote against the government.

Adding to the pressure, French labor unions have called for a nationwide protest on Sept. 10 under the slogan “Let’s block everything.”

Budget negotiations have been a major source of tension in French politics.

The failure to reach an agreement on the 2025 budget last year led to the collapse of the Michel Barnier government in December, after left-wing and far-right parties united behind a no-confidence motion.