STORY: French lawmakers will vote on Wednesday (December 4) on no-confidence motions which are all but certain to oust the government.

Throwing the euro zone's second-biggest economy deeper into a lingering political crisis as it struggles to tame a massive budget deficit.

Barring a last-minute surprise, the government of Prime Minister Michel Barnier will be France's first to be forced out by a no-confidence vote in more than 60 years.

In a TV interview on Tuesday (Decemver 3), Barnier said he still believed his government could survive the vote.

:: France Inter

But the far-right National Rally leader Jordan Bardella made clear on Wednesday morning it would support toppling Barnier alongside left-wing parties.

"We have been constructive, and we've been constructive until the end but there was an election, there's a new political reality, and when the prime minister presents us with a budget which is a recession budget, which is a punishing budget, which will penalise growth, which will penalise the spending power of our most hard-up fellow citizens, ones with the lowest incomes, and which doesn't commit to any structural reform to the way the country is run, well I have to reject that budget."

The left and the far right combined have enough votes to oust the government.

:: File

President Emmanuel Macron who brought on the crisis by calling a snap election last June could ask Barnier to stay on in a caretaker role as he seeks a new prime minister which could take until next year.

The collapse would leave a hole at the heart of the European Union when Germany is also weakened and in election mode.

Bond investors are likely to spare France a dire financial "storm" Barnier has warned of.

But economists and experts warn the fallout from the crisis will hurt businesses, consumers and taxpayers.