Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is due at a summit of European leaders, two days after a fiery exchange with US President Donald Trump in the White House.

Sir Keir told BBC One’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that his “driving purpose” right now was to act as a “bridge” between the two men.

Asked about how he felt watching the spat in the White House, Sir Keir sought to play down the incident, saying “nobody wants to see that” and admitted he felt “uncomfortable”.

The PM’s response was to pick up the phone to his counterparts Trump and Zelensky that same night, in an effort to “get us back to the central focus”, he said.

“There are a number of different routes people can go down. One is to ramp up the rhetoric as to how outraged we all are or not.”

He said the other option was to “roll up my sleeves” and quickly phone both men – and then also to speak to French President Emmanuel Macron about the role that the leading nations of Europe would play.

“Because my reaction was we have to bridge this, we have to find a way that we can all work together because in the end we’ve had three years of bloody conflict now, we need to get to that lasting peace”.

In the interview, Sir Keir was careful to avoid laying any blame for the row and insisted he was “clear in my mind” that Trump “wants a lasting peace”, answering “yes” when asked directly if he believed Trump could be trusted.

Zelensky could also be trusted, he added, but not Russian President Vladimir Putin – which is the reason the US needs to provide a security guarantee for any peace deal.

The prime minister acknowledged that a European security guarantee would have to be led by a “coalition of the willing”.

Sir Keir said that “Europeans have stood up in the last three years” but that “generally Europe needs to do more in its own defence and security and that’s why I’ve said we need to increase spending, we’ve got to increase capability and we’ve got to co-ordinate more because in the Ukraine conflict we’ve seen that the co-ordination isn’t there”.

Earlier this week, the PM announced he would cut the foreign aid budget to fund an increase in defence funding to 2.5% of national income by 2027, which led to the resignation of his International Development Minister Anneliese Dodds.

The move came after Trump had called on the US’s Nato allies to increase defence spending to 5% of their respective national incomes.

France spends 2.1% on defence and has pledged to double this by 2030.

Sir Keir urged all European nations to review their defence budgets, saying: “Generally Europe needs to do more in its own defence and security and that’s why I’ve said we need to increase spending, we’ve got to increase capability .

Asked to explain what a European “coalition of the willing” he said: “We need to be clear what a European security guarantee [in Ukraine} would look like.

“We’ve got to find those countries in Europe that are prepared to be a bit more forward-leaning.”

He said the UK and France were leading the thinking on it but added: “The more the better in this.”

Macron said in a social media Q&A that he would warn Trump against appearing weak to Russian President Vladimir Putin. It comes after the US held direct talks with Russia for the first time since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

He is also due to present European proposals to achieve peace in Ukraine after the US president accused him of having “done nothing” on the matter.

The meeting takes place on the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Other European leaders have been in Kyiv in a show of support.

On Thursday, Macron told a social media audience that Trump also needed to think about how his interactions with Putin would appear to other world leaders.

“It’s not you, it’s not your trademark, it’s not in your interest. How can you then be credible in the face of China if you’re weak in the face of Putin?” Macron said.

He added that he would seek to persuade Trump that the interests of the US and Europe were aligned, and that “if you let Russia take over Ukraine, it would be unstoppable”.

That means any peace deal must be negotiated with Ukrainians and Europeans around the table, Macron said.

Such an appeal to the US president’s ego is a conscious choice from Macron, who knows Trump from the latter’s first term in power, Sebastien Maillard from the Chatham House think tank says.

“Macron is trying to touch on what could be more emotion than on pure rational arguments,” Mr Maillard said.

Trump wants to appear as a strong man who got a peace deal quickly, he said, so Macron’s strategy “is to demonstrate to Trump how weak he would look, he would not be the strong man he wants to be”.

“If he treats Putin too kindly he will not be respected by China, Iran or other enemies.”

More broadly, Macron’s visit is likely to be part time-buying operation for Europe and part fact-finding mission, according to Mr Maillard.

“This is a last chance mission because Europe senses that things are hurrying up – they are afraid that this could be done too quickly and badly,” Mr Maillard said.

He added that the international community was “bewildered” by this “new Putin-Trump axis”, and that “Macron wants to understand what the future of Nato is”.

“So that he is not taken by surprise at the next speech or next tweet,” Mr Maillard added.

An advisor to Macron’s office said that the French president would also use the meeting to present “proposals for action that reflect the convergences that emerged”, AFP reported.

Those convergences refer to Washington’s sudden policy shift in engaging Russia directly.

Within a month of taking back the White House, Trump had Putin on the phone and sent a delegation of US representatives to meet with Russian counterparts in Saudi Arabia.

Those talks resulted in an agreement to appoint teams from both countries to start negotiating the end of the war.

Russia also said it would not accept peacekeeping forces from Nato countries in Ukraine under any peace deal, a proposal that had ben raised a day earlier at a meeting of European members of Nato in Paris arranged hastily by Macron.

Macron’s meeting with Trump comes ahead of UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s own visit, which is due on Thursday.

Like the French leader, Starmer has also been accused by Trump of having done nothing to end the war. The UK leader also responded to Trump calling Zelensky a “dictator” by saying he was his country’s “democratically elected leader”.

Both Macron and Starmer will be looking to present a united front to Trump to convince him against making decisions about Ukrainian and European security without involving Europeans, Mr Maillard said.

Trump also said Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky had “no cards” in peace negotiations, adding: “I don’t think he’s very important to be in meetings.”

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the UK, France and other allies have been supplying Kyiv with weapons and other aid.

On Monday, European leaders held a hastily-arranged summit in Paris – a day before US-Russia talks in Saudi Arabia, and amid fears that Ukraine and Europe could be excluded from peace negotiations.

Despite his criticism of Macron and Sir Keir, Trump also praised the European leaders in his interview with Fox News. He said that he considered Macron to be a “friend”, and called the British prime minister a “very nice guy”.

Macron is expected to visit Washington on Monday, while Sir Keir will be there on Thursday.

Earlier this week, the British prime minister said he was “ready and willing” to put UK troops on the ground in Ukraine to help guarantee its security as part of a peace deal.

The BBC has contacted the PM’s office for comment.

While European leaders have ruled out negotiating with Russia, they have met regularly to discuss the war in Ukraine.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the US, UK and EU – along with other countries including Australia, Canada and Japan – have imposed more than 20,000 sanctions on Russia.

Many European nations have also signed agreements to support and provide aid to Ukraine.

In January, Sir Keir signed a “landmark” pact, telling Zelensky: “We are with you not just today, for this year or the next – but for 100 years – long after this terrible war is over and Ukraine is free and thriving once again.”

Keith Kellogg, Trump’s Ukraine envoy, said he had had “extensive and positive” discussions with Zelensky during their meeting in Kyiv on Thursday.

Kellogg praised Zelensky as a “courageous leader” – only days after Trump referred to him as a “dictator”.

In recent days, Zelensky has held phone calls with various global leaders, who have expressed their commitment to ensuring Ukraine is involved in peace talks.

Trump said on Friday that Russia and Ukraine would not want to begin peace talks without his own personal involvement.

He also continued to criticise Zelensky, saying: “I’ve been watching this man for years now as his cities get demolished, as his people get killed, as his soldiers get decimated.

“I’ve been watching him negotiate with no cards. He has no cards, and you get sick of it. You just get sick of it, and I’ve had it.”

After criticising Zelensky over the past week – using talking points that analysts say sound more like they originate in Moscow than Washington – Trump offered that “of course” he would take a phone call from Ukraine’s president.

He insisted several times that Zelensky was to blame for failing to prevent the war, saying that Russia could have been “talked out” of invading Ukraine.

Asked about Ukraine’s absence from peace talks in Saudi Arabia this week, Trump said that Russia “found it impossible to make a deal with Zelensky”.

He said he believed that Russia sincerely wanted a deal to end the war, but that President Vladimir Putin “doesn’t have to make a deal”.

US Vice-President JD Vance later hit back at critics who said that Trump’s stance on Russia amounted to “appeasement”

“We are negotiating to end the conflict. It is ‘appeasement’ only if you think the Ukrainians have a credible pathway to victory. They don’t, so it’s not,” he said in a post on X.

Meanwhile, Kyiv and Washington appeared to be inching closer to signing a deal that would give the US rights to Ukraine’s deposits of rare earth minerals.

Trump has styled this as a way for Ukraine to repay the US for its past military support.He told reporters on Friday that the US and Ukraine were “pretty close” to signing the deal, adding that the US would “get our money back”.

In a video address late on Friday, Zelensky said Ukrainian and US teams were working on a draft agreement, which “can add value to our relations”. But he stressed that “what matters most is getting the details right”.

The Ukrainian president had rejected the initial US proposal made several days ago, saying he “cannot sell our state”.

White House Security Advisor Mike Waltz said on Friday that Zelensky was “going to sign that deal”.

• Donald Trump says France’s Emmanuel Macron and UK PM Keir Starmer “haven’t done anything” to end the war in Ukraine, ahead of visits from both leaders to the White House next week
• Speaking to Fox News, the US president also says Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky has “no cards” in peace negotiations, adding: “I don’t think he’s very important to be in meetings”
• Meanwhile, UK cabinet minister Pat McFadden says Britain is in a “potentially good position” with Trump, as he urges colleagues to focus on “what will actually happen” as well as what’s said
• Earlier, the US envoy to Ukraine struck a different tone to Trump, calling Zelensky a “courageous leader”
• The extent of Kellogg’s influence on US-Ukrainian relations is questionable, 

The leaders Zelensky has spoken to this week

Ukraine’s president has been criticised by President Trump for not bringing the war with Russia to an end, claiming “nothing got done” during three years of war.

This week Volodymyr Zelensky has been reaching out to leaders across the world for support during the ongoing war. Let’s take a look at some of those he has spoken to so far, and what he said following their conversations:

• Polish President Andrzej Duda: Zelensky said their “common goal remains clear – to protect Ukraine and all of Europe from Russia’s war of aggression”

• French President Emmanuel Macron: Zelensky said they discussed “our views on security guarantees – a just and lasting peace is our shared goal”
• Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau: The pair discussed “continued military support, energy cooperation, sanctions…and the use of frozen Russian assets,” said Zelensky

• South African President Cyril Ramaphosa: “South Africa’s voice matters, and we count on its support,” said the Ukrainian leader. South Africa has since invited Zelensky for state visit, but is yet to specify a time
• Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen: Zelensky thanked Denmark for supplying weapons “and for our expanding joint defence production”
• UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer: The UK’s role in fortifying Europe’s defence and security “is important for us,” Zelensky said
• Nato Secreteray General Mark Rutte: The pair agreed there “must be confidence that in a few months or years, Putin won’t return with his war,” Zelensky said
• Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan: The pair met during Zelensky’s visit to Turkey

What Trump just said on Fox News podcast

US President Donald Trump has been speaking on a Fox Radio podcast this afternoon.

Here’s what he had to say to host, Brian Kilmeade, on the Russia-Ukraine war:

• Trump says that Russia and Ukraine would not want to begin peace talks if he was not involved
• He says that UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron “did nothing” on Russia but says he considers Macron a friend and calls Starmer “a nice guy”

• Trump tells Kilmeade that “of course” he would take a call from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, despite their recent testy exchange of words
• Trump insists several times that Russia could been “talked out” of invading Ukraine
• He says that former US President Joe Biden and Zelensky said the wrong things to Russia and there should never have been a war
• Trump stands by not inviting Zelensky to this week’s peace talks in Saudi Arabia, saying Russia “found it impossible to make a deal with Zelensky”
• He asserts that Russia is sincere in its efforts to make a peace deal, adding that Putin “doesn’t have to make a deal”

What achievements could the French president boast? Was his emergency security summit a success?

What frustrates Europe’s detractors is there’s rarely a clear answer. Different European nations speak with different voices, though they share many values and goals.

But in the current climate of black-and-white thinking prevalent in Washington and Moscow, where the world is divided into the powerful and the weak, European nuance can count as weakness.

Under that unforgiving spotlight, Monday’s meeting failed.

Leaders had raised expectations. The summit dominated headlines as soon as it was called.

The head of the West’s defence alliance Nato, European Union chiefs and leaders of Europe’s most influential military nations scrambled together at speed.

They wanted to hijack Donald Trump’s attention. To impress him. To elbow themselves a seat at the negotiating table at the peace talks he plans with Russia’s Vladimir Putin to discuss the future of Ukraine.

Europe was – it still is – smarting at being sidelined.

Ukraine is a European nation. Its fate will impact the whole continent.

Depending how bullish President Putin emerges from any peace talks, Europe’s security services fear he could turn his attention to upending the sovereignty of other nations.

The Baltic states that neighbour Russia feel particularly exposed.

But leaders didn’t help their case on Monday.

Yes, they say they’ll spend more on their own defence, as Donald Trump demands. Despite domestic concerns about limited government budgets and a cost of living crisis.

The Paris meeting even discussed the possibility of sending European troops to Ukraine to oversee an eventual ceasefire – unthinkable even a few weeks ago for Europe.

That’s what the US president wants.

But ultimately those leaders in Paris failed to deliver a strong, united, sum-it-up-in-a-line-tweet response, that might have made the impatient businessman-cum-US president sit up and really take notice.

The reasons for this are many, despite the sense of urgency in Europe about Ukraine and European security more broadly.

A number of Europe’s leaders are furious at feeling they have to dance to Donald Trump’s tune.

The frustration that poured out of the mouth of the normally phlegmatic German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was palpable when he left the Paris meeting.

“It is completely premature and a completely wrong time to have this discussion [on sending European troops to Ukraine] now. I’m even a little irritated by these debates.”

He insisted that there must be equal division between the US and Europe on responsibilities in Ukraine.

Scholz is likely to be out of a job soon. There are elections in Germany on Sunday, which he is widely expected to lose.

He’s had a couple of uncharacteristically emotional outbursts at home too of late, presumably under the strain.

Still, it’s important to note that he is far from alone amongst European leaders, who suspect Donald Trump is in a hurry to wash his hands of Ukraine and pivot his attention elsewhere. Perhaps China?

They worry too that the US president not only intends to deplete the defence umbrella his country has offered its European allies since the end of World War Two, but that Europe may now need to defend itself against him and his policies.

The tone the UK prime minister struck after the Paris meeting was in stark contrast to these darker European broodings.

He is openly keen to use the “special relationship” the UK hopes it still has with Washington as a bridge between Europe and the US.

One that Sir Keir Starmer is determined not to burn, telling voters at home that European security was in their national interest.

He appeared determinedly unfazed at Russia’s face-to-face preparation talks with the US in Saudi Arabia.

No date for that big-ticket summit between Trump and Putin has yet been set.

Sir Keir hopes to grab a window of opportunity to press Europe’s case when he heads to Washington for a meeting of his own with the US president next week.

The US must stay by its allies’ side, the prime minister has declared.

If it doesn’t, Europe’s leaders will have to keep meeting untill they can agree a way forward for Ukraine and their common security.

Should they fail again, long shadows over the stability of this continent will grow.

Laurence des Cars issued the stark warning in a leaked letter to the government raising the alarm over power-cuts, flooding, and failing infrastructure.

She said that the famous glass pyramid – which since 1989 has housed the unique access point to the galleries – was “structurally unable to cope”, and that Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, which is seen by 20,000 people every day, may have to be moved.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who has taken a personal interest in the museum’s problems, will visit the Louvre on Wednesday amid speculation that he may announce a new investment plan.

However his powers have been significantly curtailed since he lost control of parliament six months ago, and the precarious state of France’s finances – with the 2025 budget still in dispute – makes any big financial commitment highly contentious.

According to Christian Galani of Louvre employees’ trade union, “not a day goes by without some new sign of the building’s decline – paint flaking, exhibition and storage rooms flooded, power-cuts, late-payments to contractors because there’s no money.”

In November 2023 a temporary exhibition in the Sully wing had to be moved after just a few days because of a flood.

Big variations in temperature – from 10C in winter to 30C in summer – cause discomfort to staff and visitors, as well as posing a threat to the conservation of art-works.

The temperature problem is most starkly felt in the pyramid of architect Ieoh Ming Pei, which was designed to cope with four million annual visitors but today faces more than double that. Every day some 30,000 people pass through the turnstiles, making the Louvre the most visited museum in the world.

In her letter, Laurence des Cars raised the need for better toilets, cafés and rest areas. She also said that “in the view of everyone, the presentation of the Mona Lisa… is something that needs to be looked at.”

Around three-quarters of the museum’s visitors go to see Leonardo da Vinci’s painting, but the experience has become a trial, with a constant crowd being funnelled through the Salle des Etats and getting on average 50 seconds to observe the picture and take photos.

“The public… has no way of comprehending the artist’s work, which raises questions over our whole mission of public service,” Ms des Cars said.

Among the options under consideration is the opening of a new entrance to the Louvre beneath the colonnades at the palace’s eastern end. Currently there is a large open space here, with an empty moat that is not original but was created in the 1960s.

By digging underground at the moat, and in the neighbouring Cour Carrée, new spaces could be created to ease congestion, improve facilities, and possibly house a re-located Mona Lisa. Another option for the painting would be to remove it from the main collection and require visitors to pay an extra fee.

The Louvre received a state subsidy of €96m (£80m) in 2024. In 2023 it had receipts of €161m from tickets and events, as well as €83m from its sponsorship arrangement with the Louvre Abu Dhabi.

With more state money unlikely, the museum is looking increasingly to the corporate donors and philanthropists that raised €840m to rescue Notre Dame cathedral after the fire.

Culture Minister Rachida Dati is also known to support increasing entrance fees for non-EU visitors.

On Monday, Macron said that Sahel states “forgot” to thank France for its role, amid the continuing withdrawal of French troops from West African countries.

He said no Sahelian nation would be a sovereign nation without France’s intervention that prevented them from falling under the control of militants.

In response, Chad’s Foreign Minister Abderaman Koulamallah said Macron comments had revealed his contempt for Africa.

“Chad expresses its deep concern following the remarks made recently by [the French president], which reflect a contemptuous attitude towards Africa and Africans,” he said in a statement on national TV.

He said “French leaders must learn to respect the African people and recognise the value of their sacrifices”.

Senegal’s Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko said France had in the past contributed to “destabilising certain African countries such as Libya” which had “disastrous consequences” for the region’s security.

“France has neither the capacity nor the legitimacy to ensure Africa’s security and sovereignty,” he said in a statement.

Macron made his comments at an annual ambassadors’ conference in Paris, saying France was reorganising its strategic interests in the region and rejected the idea that it had been forced to withdraw from Africa.

French troops were sent to Mali in 2013 in response to an Islamist insurgency. A year later the mission was extended to take in other countries in the region, including Niger and Burkina Faso.

“We were right [to deploy]. I think someone forgot to say thank you. It’s ok it will come with time,” Macron said on Monday.

“But I say this for all the African heads of state who have not had the courage in the face of public opinion to hold that view. None of them would be a sovereign country today if the French army hadn’t deployed in the region.”

Sonko said that in the case of Senegal’s decision to ask French troops to leave, Macron’s remarks were “totally wrong”.

He said there had been no negotiation with France regarding the move to close its military bases in the country.He said and the decision had stemmed from Senegal’s “sole will as a free, independent and sovereign country”.

Both Sonko and Koulamallah also cited the role of African soldiers towards the liberation of France in the world wars.

“Had African soldiers, sometimes forcibly mobilised, mistreated and ultimately betrayed, not been deployed during the Second World War to defend France, it would, perhaps still be German today,” Sonko said.

Chad, Senegal and Ivory Coast have recently ended security agreements with France – while Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger told French troops to leave following coups.

France’s influence in the region has been waning in recent years, amid accusations of neo-colonialism and exploitative relationships with their former colonies.

The junta-led governments in Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso have moved closer to Russia after the French withdrawal from their countries.

On Monday, Chad’s foreign minister said France’s contribution in the country was limited to “its own strategic interests” even as Chad had grappled with instability and other issues during their 60- year partnership.

Chad ended its defence agreement with France in November, saying it was “time for Chad to assert its full sovereignty and redefine its strategic partnerships according to national priorities”.

Macron will visit more neighbourhoods on Friday. He said the government would send more support to the territory soon, adding that France would observe a national day of mourning on Monday.At least 31 people are reported by French officials to have died, but the death toll is expected to be much higher with thousands still missing. A large part of the archipelago is also still without power.Officials say supplies of food and water are the top priority. Macron said he brought four tonnes of food and health cargo with him on his visit.After touring the region in a helicopter to see the devastation, he said Thursday was a day he would never forget.The president pledged to rebuild the islands’ devastated infrastructure and homes.

People shouted “Macron resign”, “you’re talking nonsense” and “water, water, water” as he inspected damaged areas.During his visit to the Mamoudzou hospital centre, the AFP news agency reported that one woman told Macron: “Nobody feels safe here… people are fighting over water.””Your services are overwhelmed,” one man at the hospital told Macron, according to Reuters. “Help has not reached where I live.”But others said they were grateful for Macron’s visit and urged him to stay for longer.The territory, located north of Madagascar, is the poorest part of France. It suffers from extensive social and economic problems, including high rates of illegal immigration from neighbouring Comoros and poor-quality housing and public services.Migrants are believed to have been amongst those worst affected by the cyclone.A state of exceptional natural disaster has been declared, allowing administrative barriers to be overcome in order to deal with the crisis more quickly and effectively.It has been activated for one month, but can be extended by periods of two months if required.

Chido – the worst storm to hit the archipelago in 90 years – brought wind speeds of more than 225km/h (140mph) on Saturday, flattening areas where people live in shacks with sheet metal roofs and leaving fields of dirt and debris.After Mayotte the storm hit the African mainland, killing at least 45 people in Mozambique and 13 in Malawi.

Speaking to the nation in a televised address on Thursday, Macron said he would name a new prime minister in the “coming days”.

“The mandate you have given me is for five years, and I will exercise it until the very end,” Macron asserted during the 10-minute speech.

He pointed blame at his opponents on the far right for bringing down the government of Prime Minister Michel Barnier. He said they chose “not to do but to undo”.

“They chose disorder,” he said, adding the far right and the far left had united in what he called “an anti-Republican front”, and stressed that “I won’t shoulder other people’s irresponsibility”.

A total of 331 lawmakers in France’s 577-seat National Assembly voted to remove the government in the no-confidence vote on Wednesday, forcing Barnier to step down after three months in office – the shortest tenure of any prime minister in modern French history.

Barnier submitted his resignation in a meeting with Macron at the Elysee Palace earlier.

Macron “took note” of the resignation and asked Barnier and his government to continue in a caretaker capacity “until the appointment of a new government”, the Elysee said in a statement.

Barnier’s removal came after snap parliamentary elections in June and July resulted in a hung house, with no political force able to form an overall majority and the far right holding the key to the government’s survival.

Allies in Macron’s camp have joined the chorus urging swift action. After the snap elections, it took Macron nearly two months to appoint Barnier.

“I recommend that he proceed quickly to the appointment of a prime minister, it’s important. We must not leave things up in the air,” National Assembly President Yael Braun-Pivet told France Inter radio before meeting Macron earlier on Thursday.

Francois Bayrou, whose name is often invoked by French media as a possible successor to Barnier, was due to have lunch with Macron, Le Parisien newspaper and other media reported. Bayrou is a veteran centrist politician and a close Macron ally.

Outgoing Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu has also been noted as a possible candidate for prime minister. There was no word yet of a possible Macron meeting with him.

The political turmoil in France further weakens a European Union already reeling from the collapse of Germany’s coalition government and comes just weeks before US President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House.

Any new prime minister will face the same challenges that led to Barnier’s downfall, notably pushing the 2025 budget through a deeply divided parliament at a time when France needs to fix ailing public finances.

“This is the logical conclusion of what France and its lawmakers are at the moment: a mess,” 75-year-old Parisian Paulo told the Reuters news agency, commenting on the latest developments.

Analyst Jean-Christophe Gallien said the lack of a majority in parliament would continue to be an obstacle to the president’s ability to govern.

“What happens next is difficult to understand now. This National Assembly is without any kind of majority. There are only minorities,” Gallien, a lecturer of political science at the Sorbonne University said.

“There are 13 political groups. And there is no solution for the moment.”

A French president cannot be pushed out unless two-thirds of lawmakers decide he has gravely failed to fulfil his role, according to a never invoked article of the constitution.

Some 64 percent of voters want Macron to resign, according to the Toluna Harris Interactive poll for RTL broadcaster. A small majority of voters approve of parliament bringing down Barnier, but many are worried about its economic and political consequences, the poll suggested.Under French constitutional rules, there cannot be a new parliamentary election held before July.

Names for a new prime minister were swirling before Barnier even tendered his resignation on Thursday morning, including Defence Minister Sébastien Lecornu, Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau and centrist former presidential candidate François Bayrou.

But finding a name that would not immediately be shot down by one of the large parliamentary factions could take some time, as it did in the summer, when former PM Gabriel Attal stayed on as caretaker for two months.

Barnier is likely to be asked to remain in post in the interim.

Barnier’s government collapsed after MPs voted overwhelmingly in support of the motion against him, just three months after he was appointed by Macron.

Wednesday night’s vote was the first time a French government had been voted down by parliament in more than 60 years.

Marine Le Pen’s far right and the left-wing New Popular Front both united to censure Barnier’s government after the former Brexit negotiator used special powers to force through his budget without a vote.

A total of 331 voted in support of the motion, far more than the 288 required for it to pass.Barnier is now obliged to present the resignation of his government, while the budget which triggered his downfall was automatically withdrawn.

As president, Macron is constitutionally unaffected by Barnier’s resignation.But many opposition politicians are increasingly open about wanting to force him to resign and call early presidential elections – something Macron has insisted is off the cards.

The left-wing alliance New Popular Front (NFP), which won the most seats in the parliamentary elections, had previously criticised Macron’s decision to appoint centrist Barnier as prime minister over its own candidate.

Alongside the far-right National Rally (RN), it deemed Barnier’s budget – which included €60bn (£49bn) in deficit reduction – unacceptable.

Marine Le Pen, the RN leader, said the budget was “toxic for the French”.Ahead of the vote, Barnier told the National Assembly that voting him out of office would not solve the country’s financial problems.

“We have reached a moment of truth, of responsibility,” he said, adding that “we need to look at the realities of our debt”.

“I did not present almost exclusively difficult measures because I wanted to.”

In an interview with French broadcaster TF1 on Wednesday, Le Pen said there was “no other solution” than to remove Barnier.

Asked about the French president’s prospects, she replied: “I am not asking for the resignation of Emmanuel Macron.”

Many of her allies, however, are increasingly openly hoping they can force him to resign. RN adviser Philippe Olivier told Le Monde the president was “a fallen republican monarch, advancing with his shirt open and a rope around his neck up to the next dissolution [of parliament]”.

No new parliamentary elections can be held until July, so the current deadlock in the Assembly – where no group can hope to have a working majority – is set to continue.