French PM faces ouster as no-confidence motion tabled

FRANCE'S Michel Barnier faced an abrupt end to his premiership Monday after key opposition parties said they would back a no-confidence motion against his government after only three months in power.

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Certain that the National Assembly would deny him a majority backing the government's social security financing plan for next year, Barnier forced through the bill without a vote, using executive powers under article 49.3 of the French constitution.

The conservative premier, who formed a minority government in September after an inconclusive general election, has lived under the constant threat of a no-confidence vote that could force him to quit.