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.
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.
Bayrou is expected to submit his resignation to French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday morning, according to CNN affiliate BFMTV. The prime minister’s departure leaves Macron with few palatable options.
Investors have been rattled. Yields on French government bonds – or the interest rate demanded by investors – have risen above those of Spanish, Portuguese and Greek bonds, which were once at the heart of the eurozone debt crisis. A possible downgrade of France’s sovereign debt rating review Friday would deliver another blow to its economic standing in Europe.
“You have the power to bring down the government, but you do not have the power to erase reality,” Bayrou told lawmakers on Monday ahead of the vote. “Reality will remain relentless: expenses will continue to rise, and the burden of debt, already unbearable, will grow heavier and more costly.”
“We broke the social contract” with younger generations, Bayrou added.
The political instability can be traced back to Macron’s own dramatic decision last year to call a snap election. Piqued by the remarkable results of the far-right National Rally in the European Parliament elections of May 2024, the French president forced a vote in which his party lost seats to the far right and far left, leaving France with a splintered parliament.
Even before the vote, the prospect of Bayrou’s downfall sparked callsfor the president to step aside, though he has vowed to serve out his term. Far-right doyenne Marine Le Pen has demanded he dissolve parliament, but fresh elections would almost certainly strengthen her party and fracture the French parliament further.
Another path would be for Macron to appoint a caretaker government while looking for a new prime minister, with Armed Forces Minister Sébastien Lecornu and Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin among the frontrunners for what is likely to be a poisoned chalice.
The trouble for Macron is that, after three failed centrist prime ministers, the opposition parties are in no mood to give another one a chance. Both the far right and far left have signaled they would immediately call for a vote of no confidence if another such premier were appointed. Naming a prime minister from another political camp is, in theory, an option, but a choice on the right would be blocked by the left, and vice versa.
For the next prime minister, the budget fight will be just as fraught. The Socialists want to tax the rich and roll back Macron’s tax cuts for businesses – all red lines to Les Republicains, the long-standing conservative party and a key player in the coalition cobbled together after the snap election. The upshot is that France’s fiscal mess is unlikely to be fixed anytime soon.
In the event of another snap parliamentary election, a recent Elabe poll suggests the National Rally would emerge on top, with the left coming in second and Macron’s centrist bloc a distant third. Many now assume the far right will eventually take power – if not now, then after the 2027 presidential election – though few believe such an outcome would solve the country’s problems.
Public trust in the political class has collapsed and anger is set to spill onto the streets: the far left has called nationwide protests for Wednesday, under the banner “Bloquons tout” (“Let’s block everything”), with trade unions planning another mobilization on September 18.
All of this comes at the worst possible geopolitical moment, with wars raging in Ukraine and the Middle East. Instability in Paris is a gift to both Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump, who share a common delight in mocking Europe’s weaknesses.
An officer fatally shot a person who injured an ICE agent during an immigration arrest in the Chicago area Friday, according to federal immigration officials.
A spokesperson for Immigration and Customs Enforcement said that officers were conducting a vehicle stop as part of a “targeted law enforcement activity” on Friday morning.
The person being stopped resisted and attempted to drive his vehicle into the officers arresting him, subsequently striking and dragging one of them, ICE said in a statement. “Fearing for his life, the officer discharged his firearm and struck the subject,” ICE said.
Photos and video captured by NBC Chicago showed multiple law enforcement vehicles in Franklin Park, where the shooting occurred.
Both the officer and the driver were taken to a hospital. The driver was pronounced dead at the hospital. The officer sustained severe injuries and is in stable condition, ICE said.
“We are praying for the speedy recovery of our law enforcement officer,” Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. “He followed his training, used appropriate force, and properly enforced the law to protect the public and law enforcement.”
The Department of Homeland Security identified the driver who was killed as Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez. DHS said in a statement that he was the “target of the enforcement operation” and that he came to the United States “at an unknown date and time.”
DHS accused Villegas-Gonzalez of having “a history of reckless driving.”
The Federal Bureau of Investigations said it was assisting law enforcement officers in response to the incident, NBC Chicago reported.
Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker of Illinois said in a social media post that he is “aware of the troubling incident that has unfolded in Franklin Park.”
“This is a developing situation and the people of Illinois deserve a full, factual accounting of what’s happened today to ensure transparency and accountability,” Pritzker said.
Villegas-Gonzalez’s death comes on the same week ICE launched its immigration enforcement campaign “Operation Midway Blitz” across the state of Illinois, particularly focusing on Chicago. It was not immediately clear if the enforcement activity that led up to the shooting was part of the campaign.
As we learn more about the suspect accused of killing Charlie Kirk, here’s a recap of the day so far
After nearly two days of searching, authorities announced today that they have arrested a suspect in connection with the shooting and killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, at a speaking event at Utah Valley University (UVU) on Wednesday. Tyler Robinson, 22, is now in custody at Utah County Jail.
According to surveillance footage, authorities say that Robinson was seen arriving at the UVU campus on Wednesday in a Dodge Challenger.
FBI director Kash Patel said that Robinson was ultimately arrested in Washington County – which sits in the southwest corner of the state – at around 10pm local time on Thursday 11 September.
At a press conference earlier, governor Spencer Cox said that Robinson’s family friend turned him in, and told officers that Robinson “confessed to them or implied that he had committed the incident”. Cox also said that a family member that investigators interviewed described Robinson as becoming “more political in recent years” and was aware that Kirk was due to speak at UVU.
The weapon used was identified as a high-action bolt rifle, and Cox noted that several bullet casings were found at the scene of the crime. One of three unfired casings read “Hey fascist! Catch!”, a second read “Oh Bella Ciao” (which is the name of an anti-fascist Italian anthem), and a third casing had the following engraved: “If you read this, you are gay, LMAO”.
Robinson has not been formally charged yet. Officials today said they have three days to prepare those documents, which will likely be filed early next week. According to court records obtained by CNN, Robinson is being held without bail on several initial charges, including aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm, and obstruction of justice.
A Utah Valley University spokesperson confirmed today that Robinson is a third-year student in the electrical apprenticeship program at Dixie Technical College. He also briefly attended Utah State University.
Donald Trump was the first to break the news of the investigation’s development. He announced “with a high degree of certainty” that law enforcement had arrested a suspect in an interview with Fox News earlier today.
Key events
Cy Neff
in Washington, Utah
Roy Corey, retired and in his 70s, was watering his marigolds on Friday morning in a neighborhood not far from the family home of Tyler Robinson, who was arrested in connection with the killing of Charlie Kirk, the conservative activist and influencer.
Corey moved to Utah and feels at home there because his wife and him are “patriots and Christians”. He has no relation to the Robinsons, but has been fielding visits all day – from local law enforcement, reporters and two people who said they were with a collections agency – because he lives in a house formerly owned by a Robinson relative.
Corey seemed amused by the coincidence, but saddened by Kirk’s death. He sees it as part of a broader pattern.
“Regardless of if Charlie got shot or not, it’s increasing,” Corey said.
Cy Neff
in Washington, Utah
Miles Meloni, 14, lives in the same neighborhood as the Robinsons. Meloni followed Kirk, and feels “great sorrow” for the Robinson and Kirk families.
Meloni is alarmed by political violence in the country he is coming of age in.
“I want to see a change,” Meloni said. “I think for people like this, if the family sees any progression towards this view, that they need to hurt people, that they need to have their child, family member, friends, anybody, seek help.”
He hopes this doesn’t skew people’s perception of the state he calls home.
“It’s just not something you think would happen here,” Meloni said. “Don’t let this taint your view on Utah.”
Suspect’s high school friend says Robinson was the only ‘leftist’ in a family of ‘very hard’ Republicans
Anna Betts
In a phone interview on Friday, one of Tyler Robinson’s high school friends, who asked to remain anonymous, said that the suspect was “pretty left on everything” and was “the only member of his family that was really leftist”.
“The rest of his family was very hard Republican,” the friend said.
Around sophomore year, the friend said, Robinson became more extreme in his political views and would “always just be ranting and arguing about them”.
The friend said that they played video games together a lot in high school and noted that the bullet engraving with the arrows was a reference to Helldivers 2 – which we mentioned earlier. He said that the arrows specifically were in reference to “calling in a big bomb that exists” in the game “called the 500 kilogram”.
When the friend saw the news on Friday, he said that he was shocked. “I knew he [Robinson] had strong political views, but I never thought it would even go near that far.”
Casing inscriptions suggest possible link to video game – report
The Verge has been reporting on the engravings of several bullet casings found by the shooter’s weapon at Utah Valley University.
They report that that one of them, which reads “Hey fascist! Catch!” – followed by up arrow, right arrow and three down arrow symbols – is noteworthy because it’s the “combination sequence for calling the Eagle 500kg Bomb stratagem” in the video game Helldivers 2.
The third-person shooter game features soldiers who are tasked with trying to fight alien-like creatures that have taken over in the name of “democracy”.
References to “O Bella Ciao” (another engraving on one of the bullet casings) is referenced in the video game too.
As of now, law enforcement officials have not confirmed this link.
Representative Luna says Congress is ‘watching’ universities’ response to videos about Charlie Kirk’s murder
Republican lawmaker Anna Paulina Luna, of Florida, has warned colleges and universities across the US that Congress is “watching closely” to see which institutions take “the right action by firing professors who celebrated the murder of Charlie Kirk or circulated videos glorifying his assassination”.
The Maga firebrand, and Trump loyalist, also said that that “any university that refuses to do the right thing will be cut off from all federal funding”.
Cy Neff
in Washington, Utah
The sunny, winding streets near the Robinson residence were already crowded on Thursday morning with law enforcement vehicles, marked and unmarked, as well as a neat row of media cameras.
The quiet neighborhood is like many others in the sun-baked city of 35,000, which lies in the middle of the red rock and sagebrush mesas of the Utah/Arizona borderlands.
Melissa Tait, 55, and a mother of four, lives just down the street from the Robinson house, and said they were “just like any other neighbor”, and that they were “no different than my family”.
Tait expressed sympathy for the family, and gratitude that they turned their son in.
“Unfortunately, their son made a really bad decision,” Tait said.
One neighbor who lives across the street from the Robinsons, declined to be named. He said he’s “blind to the world”, and only learned about Robinson’s arrest when he saw reporters and law enforcement in the street this morning.
He was agnostic about the massive media presence on his street. “Mother nature is mother nature, whatever she calls to do, let’s do it,” he said.
And was similarly accepting when asked about Robinson, the subject of a massive 48-hour search, living just across the street.
“If it’s close to home, if it’s 50 miles from me, it’s the same damn thing,” he said. “Shit happens and that’s what it is.”
Discord says they have ‘no evidence’ that lead suspect used messaging app to plan Kirk shooting
Earlier today, Utah governor Spencer Cox said that investigators found several messages they believe Tyler Robinson sent via Discord – the messaging app frequently used by gamers – about the shooting at Utah Valley University, where Charlie Kirk was fatally shot.
Officials said that Robinson’s roommate showed them the messages.
Cox said that the contact, named ‘Tyler’ discussed the following details on the app:
A need to retrieve a rifle from a drop point.
Leaving the rifle in a bush.
Messages related to visually watching the area where a rifle was left.
A message referring to having left the rifle wrapped in a towel.
A message that referred to engraving bullets, and a mention of a scope and the rifle being unique.
Messages from Robinson which also mentioned that he had changed outfits.
A Discord spokesperson told the Guardian that throughout the course of their own investigation they found an account associated with the suspect. However, they “have found no evidence that the suspect planned this incident or promoted violence on Discord”.
The spokesperson added that:
The messages referenced in recent reporting about planning details do not appear to be Discord messages. These were communications between the suspect’s roommate and a friend after the shooting, where the roommate was recounting the contents of a note the suspect had left elsewhere.
Discord said they have removed the suspect’s account and “will continue to coordinate closely with law enforcement”, expressing sympathy to the Kirk family and all those affected.
Mourners honor Charlie Kirk at vigil in London
Kevin Rawlinson
In London, dozens have gathered on Whitehall – the heart of the UK government – to hold a vigil in Kirk’s memory.
People wore Union flags, as well as Make America Great Again hats. And one flew a flag depicting Donald Trump and bearing the words “fight fight fight”.
Attached to railings near the statue of Field Marshall Montgomery was a large union flag that bore the words: “Psalm 125:3: For the scepter of wickedness will not rest on the land allotted the righteous, lest the righteous reach out their hands to iniquity.”
A person holds a US flag during a vigil at the Montgomery Statue in Whitehall, to commemorate conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Photograph: Jack Taylor/Reuters
Cy Neff
in Washington, Utah
Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old lead suspect in Charlie Kirk’s killing, has a family residence in Washington, Utah, according public records – a small city located not far from the Arizona border and about 260 miles from where Kirk was killed in Orem.
Walter Williams, a neighbor who has lived in the same neighborhood as the family for four years, expressed surprise when he heard the news.
“I honestly didn’t know he lived here,” said Williams, 33, in an interview from the suburban streets of Washington. He called the neighborhood a “safe place”.
“Everybody knows each other, and takes care of each other,” he said.
Reflecting on America’s political division, Williams said that as a member of the Mormon church, he liked a lot of what Kirk said, but that he also respected everyone’s right to their own views.
“I know everybody has their own opinions, that’s totally fine. That’s what the US is about,” Williams said. “Having different opinions and not forcing that on each other, not taking it out on each other. We can have an open dialogue and respect each other for our own opinions because we’re all different and that’s the beauty of being human.”
Turning Point USA (TPUSA), the organization which Charlie Kirk founded, has issued a statement following the arrest of a suspect in connection with Kirk’s murder.
“We are profoundly grateful to the men and women of law enforcement who worked with such urgency, dedication, and courage to bring this person to justice,” the statement reads. “Their commitment has brought an important step toward closure in this incredibly painful time.
TPUSA posted a video tribute to Kirk on their social media channels late Thursday, which included some of Kirk’s past appearances, and footage of his family –including his widow, Erika.
“I know a lot of you have seen, obviously, his videos on TikTok, and all the stuff he does on campus, but no one gets to see him from my angle, except for myself and our children,” Erika said at a past TPUSA event, featured in the video.
As we learn more about the suspect accused of killing Charlie Kirk, here’s a recap of the day so far
After nearly two days of searching, authorities announced today that they have arrested a suspect in connection with the shooting and killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, at a speaking event at Utah Valley University (UVU) on Wednesday. Tyler Robinson, 22, is now in custody at Utah County Jail.
According to surveillance footage, authorities say that Robinson was seen arriving at the UVU campus on Wednesday in a Dodge Challenger.
FBI director Kash Patel said that Robinson was ultimately arrested in Washington County – which sits in the southwest corner of the state – at around 10pm local time on Thursday 11 September.
At a press conference earlier, governor Spencer Cox said that Robinson’s family friend turned him in, and told officers that Robinson “confessed to them or implied that he had committed the incident”. Cox also said that a family member that investigators interviewed described Robinson as becoming “more political in recent years” and was aware that Kirk was due to speak at UVU.
The weapon used was identified as a high-action bolt rifle, and Cox noted that several bullet casings were found at the scene of the crime. One of three unfired casings read “Hey fascist! Catch!”, a second read “Oh Bella Ciao” (which is the name of an anti-fascist Italian anthem), and a third casing had the following engraved: “If you read this, you are gay, LMAO”.
Robinson has not been formally charged yet. Officials today said they have three days to prepare those documents, which will likely be filed early next week. According to court records obtained by CNN, Robinson is being held without bail on several initial charges, including aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm, and obstruction of justice.
A Utah Valley University spokesperson confirmed today that Robinson is a third-year student in the electrical apprenticeship program at Dixie Technical College. He also briefly attended Utah State University.
Donald Trump was the first to break the news of the investigation’s development. He announced “with a high degree of certainty” that law enforcement had arrested a suspect in an interview with Fox News earlier today.
Neighbor of suspect’s family describes accused as ‘respectful and quiet’
Anna Betts
Kristin Schwiermann, 66, a neighbor of the Robinson family, told the Guardian that Robinson was “very respectful and quiet” and “had friends.”
“He was smart” she said, and “aced his ACTs and got a full ride at university.”
“He’s from a very loving family” she said. “I love his mother, and he’s just a hard working family.”
The news, she added, “shocked the crap out of me, because we live in a very nice neighborhood, a very quiet neighborhood, we all know each other, and this just really just shocked me.”
“I didn’t think he would have done this” she said.
Nepal’s former Supreme Court chief justice Sushila Karki has become the country’s interim prime minister after deadly anti-corruption protests ousted the government.
Karki, 73, was sworn in during a brief ceremony, becoming the first woman to lead the impoverished Himalayan nation after a deal was reached with the protest leaders.
More than 50 people were killed in clashes with riot police during this week’s mass protests sparked by a ban on social media platforms.
Earlier on Friday, President Ram Chandra Poudel’s press adviser confirmed to the BBC that Karki would take the oath of office in the evening.
The agreement between the president and the protest leaders was reached after days of consultations. Legal experts were also involved.
Parliament was dissolved late on Friday and it was announced that general elections would be held on 5 March next year.
Karki is expected to appoint ministers in her cabinet within a few days.
She is widely regarded as a person of clean image, and is being supported by student leaders from the so-called “Gen Z” to lead the interim government.
Her cabinet will face multiple challenges – restoring law and order, reconstructing parliament and other key buildings that were attacked, as well as reassuring the Gen Z protesters who want change – and others in Nepal who are fearful its young democracy and constitutional order could be derailed.
Another key task will be to bring those responsible for violence to justice.
Karki’s appointment is a result of compromise in the talks this week that were brokered by Nepal’s army chief. Elated Gen Z supporters are expressing their happiness on social media and many see this as the next step in the new political course they want the country to take.
On Tuesday, Karkivisited the protest site in Kathmandu where 19 people were killed in clashes with police the day before. She also met some of the injured who were being treated in hospital.
Karki was born in a family with close contacts with the Koirala political dynasty from the country’s largest democratic party Nepali Congress, and later married the then leader party Durga Subedi.
She has said that her husband’s support played a major role in her journey from a lawyer to Nepal’s chief justice in 2016.
But Karki has not been free from controversy, having even faced an impeachment incident during her nearly 11-month tenure as chief justice.
Nepal’s army is still patrolling the streets of Kathmandu, as the country reels from its worst unrest in decades. Restrictions were only briefly lifted to allow residents to buy essential items.
The protests were triggered by the government’s decision last week to ban 26 social media platforms, including WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook – but they soon widened to embody much deeper discontent with Nepal’s political elite.
In the weeks before the ban, a “nepo kid” campaign, spotlighting the lavish lifestyles of politicians’ children and allegations of corruption, had taken off on social media.
And while the social media ban was hastily lifted on Monday night, the protests had by that stage gained unstoppable momentum.
