Bayrou and the vote of confidence: how did the governments under Macron end?

He is the third prime minister appointed during the year 2024, and Emmanuel Macron's sixth since the start of his first term in 2017. Having arrived at Matignon in December, François Bayrou faces a vote of confidence in the National Assembly on Monday, September 8, which could lead to the fall of his government. A look back at the long succession of prime ministers during the last two presidential terms.

The first to hold the post of head of government under the presidency of Emmanuel Macron, Édouard Philippe was appointed to Matignon in May 2017. He remained there until July 2020, after three years marked by intense political and social sequences: the abandonment of the airport project at Notre-Dame-des-Landes, the reforms of the SNCF and pensions, the yellow vest crisis, and finally the Covid-19 pandemic .

His government underwent two reshuffles, notably in October 2018, following the resignation of Gérard Collomb, then Minister of the Interior. The management of the health crisis boosted his popularity, but in July 2020, in a context of significant economic and social tensions, Emmanuel Macron decided on another reshuffle. As was customary under the Fifth Republic, the Prime Minister presented his government's resignation – which was accepted.

The second and last head of government under Emmanuel Macron's first five-year term, Jean Castex was appointed Prime Minister in July 2020. At the time, this local elected official, a senior civil servant by training, was appointed to lead the delicate exit strategy from the first lockdown linked to the Covid-19 epidemic.

His mandate is thus largely marked by the management of the health crisis, the reform of pensions and that of unemployment insurance. He also continues the work of the Ségur de la santé , aimed at strengthening the hospital system.

Before Emmanuel Macron's re-election, Jean Castex himself announced that he would leave Matignon, regardless of the President's intentions for his second five-year term. With his resignation accepted, the former Prime Minister will take over as head of the RATP group in November 2022.

Following Emmanuel Macron's re-election in May 2022, Élisabeth Borne became the second woman in the history of the Republic to reach Matignon. Prefect, senior civil servant, and former minister in Édouard Philippe's team, her time at Matignon was marked by the adoption of several controversial texts, foremost among them the pension reform, imposed on the National Assembly thanks to Article 49.3 of the Constitution. In twenty months, she has used it 23 times , notably to get budgetary texts adopted.

In January 2024, Élisabeth Borne submitted her resignation to Emmanuel Macron, who accepted it. Officially, this was a strategic reshuffle in a tense pre-European campaign climate. But her authority had been regularly undermined, including within the presidential camp. A few months later, Élisabeth Borne returned to the government, appointed Minister of National Education.

Appointed Prime Minister in January 2024, Gabriel Attal becomes, at 34, the youngest head of government of the Fifth Republic. A former Minister of National Education, he quickly established himself on the ground, particularly in the face of the agricultural crisis and flooding in Pas-de-Calais.

But his term in office was disrupted by the defeat of the presidential majority in the June 2024 European elections. Emmanuel Macron dissolved the National Assembly, ushering in a period of political uncertainty. Attal submitted his resignation on July 8, which was accepted eight days later.