assembly

France has been plunged into a new political crisis with the defeat of Prime Minister François Bayrou at a confidence vote in the National Assembly.

Lacking any majority in the National Assembly, Bayrou saw the left and hard-right uniting against him - and his fate was sealed.

Bayrou took over from Michel Barnier last December after Barnier failed to get his budget through the Assembly.

Instead, he must now choose between appointing a fifth prime minister in less than two years, who will face the same intractable opposition - or call snap parliamentary elections and risk an even more hostile National Assembly.

There is pressure from some quarters – notably Marine Le Pen's National Rally – for a new dissolution of the National Assembly and parliamentary elections.