The French parliament is expected to vote today on a no-confidence motion against prime minister Michel Barnier’s minority government.
Here’s the parliamentary arithmetic that explains how we got here and how the vote could play out.
The crisis came to a head this week when France’s prime minister, Michel Barnier, was due to present part of his budget package for parliamentary approval. The government parties together form about a third of the Assemblée Nationale, and Barnier knew he could not pass his budget in the face of opposition from the two main other blocs, the left and far-right.
As this chart shows, a united government still falls far short of a majority in the Assemblée Nationale. This wouldn’t matter if enough other members abstained, but Barnier’s opponents had made it clear they intended to vote against.