France’s government faces the imminent loss of a vote of confidence 

LESS THAN three months after it was appointed, Michel Barnier’s minority government looks to be on the way out. On December 2nd the French prime minister used an emergency provision of the constitution, known as 49.3, to force the social-security part of his budget through parliament without a vote. This prompted the left-wing alliance to table a motion of no-confidence, which Marine Le Pen’s hard-right National Rally (RN) party immediately said it would back. That vote is expected to take place on December 4th. Together, an unholy alliance of the left and the hard right has the parliamentary numbers needed to bring the government down.