The government of President Emmanuel Macron collapsed Wednesday after the National Assembly voted for the first time in more than a half-century to oust a prime minister from office, a sign of the political gridlock that has paralyzed France,

Michael Barnier has become the shortest-serving French prime minister in modern history as opposition parties have ousted his government in a historic no-confidence vote – which hands president Emmanuel Macron a fresh political crisis.

French lawmakers are to hold a vote of no confidence on Wednesday to decide on the future of the centre-right minority government led by Prime Minister Michel Barnier. From 4 pm (1500 GMT), two motions are to be debated and voted on in the National Assembly - France's lower house - submitted by the left-wing camp and the far-right nationalists around Marine Le Pen.