France’s Lombard Downplays Sept. 8 Collapse Risk but Warns of IMF Threat

French Finance Minister Danielle Lombard said she does not expect the government to collapse in the confidence vote scheduled for 8 September, insisting she is "certainly not resigned" to such an outcome. Lombard acknowledged, however, that a fall of Prime Minister François Bayrou’s administration could open the door to International Monetary Fund intervention, a scenario she said the government is working hard to avoid. Bayrou last week called the extraordinary confidence vote to rally support for a four-year fiscal plan aimed at cutting the budget deficit to 5.4% of gross domestic product in 2025 and to 2.8% by 2029. Opposition leader Marine Le Pen has threatened to seek Bayrou’s removal if he does not revise spending cuts, raising political uncertainty ahead of the parliamentary test.