French Prime Minister Michel Barnier's three-month-old minority government was toppled on Wednesday evening in a no-confidence motion supported by left-wing and far-right lawmakers. The collapse, which was precipitated by a fight over Barnier's austerity budget,

French lawmakers prepared to oust the government with a no-confidence motion on Wednesday, plunging the euro zone's second-biggest economic power deeper into political turmoil.

Marine Le Pen pledged to topple Prime Minister Michel Barnier’s government after he failed to meet her demands on a new budget, threatening financial and political disruption for France. Barnier on Monday invoked a constitutional mechanism that allows for a social security bill to be adopted without a vote,