Macron asks PM Barnier and his government to stay on until successor is named

French President Emmanuel Macron asked ousted Prime Minister Michel Barnier and his government to stay on in a caretaker capacity until a new prime minister is nominated.

"The Prime Minister today submitted the resignation of his Government to the President of the Republic, who acknowledged it. Michel Barnier, together with the members of the Government, ensures the handling of current affairs until the appointment of a new Government," the Elysee said in a statement on Thursday.

Barnier's resignation came after far-right and leftist lawmakers voted to topple his government, plunging the eurozone's second-largest economy deeper into political crisis and making him the shortest-serving prime minister in modern French history. He stayed in his post only 90 days.

Macron is believed to be in a hurry to appoint the new premier to avoid a vacuum, according to multiple sources who spoke to AFP.

The trigger for Barnier's ouster was his 2025 budget plan including austerity measures that were unacceptable to a majority in parliament but that he argued were necessary to stabilize France's finances.

Speaking to the French lawmakers before the vote on Wednesday, Barnier defended his decision to force passage of the 2025 social security budget, pointing out that France is plunged into an enormous deficit. "This reality remains there; it will not disappear by the magic of a no-confidence vote," he said.

(With input from agencies)