French government collapses after MPs vote to oust prime minister

French lawmakers voted to oust Prime Minister François Bayrou Monday, plunging the country into a new political crisis and leaving it without a government at a time of increasing economic strain and geopolitical tensions, CNN reported.

A total of 364 MPs voted against Bayrou and 194 voted for him after he called the vote in a bid to push through an unpopular €44 billion ($51 billion) savings plan that included scrapping two public holidays and freezing government spending. The 364 votes against Bayrou were well above the 280-vote threshold needed to topple the government.

Bayrou will now be forced to step down after just nine months in office, following in the footsteps of his predecessor Michel Barnier, who lost a no-confidence vote last December.

French President Emmanuel Macron will name a new prime minister in the coming days, according to the Élysée Palace. But Bayrou’s departure leaves Macron with few palatable options.