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That's all for our live coverage today of the collapse of the French government.

If you're just checking in, here is a recap of the key developments over the course of the day.

• Michel Barnier submitted his resignation as France's prime minister this afternoon, after losing a vote of no-confidence in his government yesterday;
• He became the shortest-serving prime minister in modern French history, holding the position for barely three months after being appointed by president Emmanuel Macron;
• Barnier and his government are set to stay on in a caretaker capacity until a new government is formed;
• Macron met allies and parliamentary leaders in a search for Barnier's replacement. This included Francois Bayrou, leader of allied centrists MoDem, Le Parisien newspaper reported;
• The president addressed the nation, telling them he would appoint a new prime minister "in the coming days";
• He also heavily criticised the left and ring wing parties for bringing down Barnier.

Emmanuel Macron is delivering an address to the nation, saying he will appoint a prime minister "in the coming days".

Their priority will be the budget, with a bill before parliament in December to keep the government running, before a new budget is prepared in the new year, he says.

He says he is not driven by ambition, as he cannot run again for president when his term ends in 2027.

Macron points to the reopening of Notre Dame on Saturday and the Olympic Games in the summer as examples of success.

He signs off with: "Long live the republic, long live France."

President Emmanuel Macron is addressing the nation following the resignation of the French prime minister. 

He thanks Michel Barnier, who he says was the right person to navigate parliament, for his time in the role. 

He says that in holding a no-confidence vote in Mr Barnier's government, the extreme right and left joined in an "anti-Republican" front. 

It is in contradiction to many of the promises made to voters and causes disorder and chaos, the president argues.

The parties involved are cynically thinking about the next presidential election rather than the people of France, he continues.

President Emmanuel Macron is set to address the French nation from 7pm UK time.

He is expected to address the economic challenges that precipitated the downfall of Michel Barnier's government, while setting a course for the next one.

It is unclear whether he will name a new prime minister to lead a minority government through a fractured parliament where no party holds a majority. 

Macron wants to move quickly, with Yael Braun-Pivet, president of the National Assembly and a member of Macron's party, also urging him to do so.

Last time around, after the elections in June, it took Macron more than two months to appoint Barnier.

The no-confidence vote that brought Barnier down yesterday was sparked by his attempt to use special powers to push through his budget for 2025, and Macron could address the country's financial predicament in his speech.

France is struggling to tame a massive budget deficit which is projected to exceed 6% of national output this year.

Mr Barnier's budget had sought to reduce the fiscal deficit with 鈧�60bn (拢49.7bn) in tax hikes and spending cuts, but opposition parties wanted to tackle it at a much slower pace.

The no-confidence vote has galvanised opposition leaders, with some explicitly calling for Macron's resignation - an idea he has dismissed outright.

As meetings take place between Macron and parliamentary leadership to find a path to a new prime minister, some of the numerous parties that make up the assembly are making their positions known.

The conservative Republicans Party (LR) will oppose any government led by the New Popular Front, a source has told Le Parisien.

The LR, which hold 47 seats and was somewhat a kingmaker in the selection of Michel Barnier after the last election, made the decision "unanimously" at a group meeting this afternoon.

There would be no automatic opposition to other scenarios, the source said.

The left wing New Popular Front alliance holds the most seats in the assembly, 193, but 289 seats are needed for a majority.

Macron's centrist Ensemble and allies have 166 seats, while Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally and allies have 142.

The last government was formed when Ensemble built a loose coalition with right wing politicians, in particular the Republicans, of which Michel Barnier was a member and whom the National Rally had said they could work with.

A copy of Michel Barnier's resignation letter is making the rounds in French media - and it is very succinct.

He wrote to Emmanuel Macron: "Since the assembly has adopted a no-confidence motion, I have the honour of submitting the resignation of the government.

"Please accept, Mr President of the Republic, the assurance of my deepest respect."

Euro News points out the contrast in style with the resignation of his predecessor, Gabriel Attal, in July, who expressed his infinite gratitude to Macron and spoke of "recognition, passion, and duty".

Here are some of the possible candidates whose names are circulating in political circles and French media.

Centrist: Sebastien Lecornu

Lecornu, 38, defected from the centre-right Republicans party and to Emmanuel Macron's Renaissance party in 2017.

After serving as minister of local authorities and minister of overseas, he became defence minister in 2022, supervising increases in defence spending and France's support of military aid to Ukraine.

Earlier this year, Lecornu reportedly dined with Macron's arch-rival, Marine Le Pen of the far-right National Rally, and discussed the war in Ukraine, Mediapart and newspaper Liberation reported.

Lecornu denied the reports.

Centrist: Francois Bayrou

Bayrou, 73, is a centrist veteran whose Democratic Movement (MoDem) party has been a part of Macron's ruling alliance since 2017.

Macron appointed Bayrou as justice minister, but he resigned only weeks later amid an investigation into his party's alleged fraudulent employment of parliamentary assistants. 

He was cleared of fraud charges this year.

The politician is a long-time mayor of the southwestern town of Pau, and has made his rural roots central to his political identity.

Centre-left: Bernard Cazeneuve

Cazeneuve, 61, was a senior member of the Socialist Party before he quit in 2022 in anger over the party's decision to form an electoral pact with the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI).

He served as prime minister during the final months of Francois Hollande's presidency. 

Before that, he was interior minister, in charge of security during the Charlie Hebdo attack and during the militant assault in Paris on 13 November 2015 claimed by Islamic State.

Choosing Cazeneuve would be designed to encourage left wing lawmakers to move away from the New Popular Front alliance and expand the centrist Ensemble alliance led by Macron.

Centre-right: Xavier Bertrand

Bertrand, 59, is a centre-right politician who heads the northern de-industrialised region of Hauts de France.

He served as a minister under the conservative presidencies of Jacques Chirac and Nicolas Sarkozy and eyed the presidency in 2022, taking part in the Republicans' primary contest.

A former insurance salesman, he was once nicknamed "floc
floc" for the sound his rubber-soled shoes made on parliament's
stone floor.

Centre-right: Francois Baroin

Baroin, 59, is a centre-right career politician, whose father was a friend of late president Jacques Chirac.

He served briefly as finance minister, following a stint as budget minister at the height of Europe's sovereign debt crisis in 2011-2012. 

He was named chairman of Barclays France in 2022.

Michel Barnier submitted his resignation as France's prime minister this afternoon after losing a vote of no-confidence in his government yesterday.

He became the shortest-serving prime minister in modern French history, holding the position for barely three months after being appointed by president Emmanuel Macron.

For his part, Macron has met allies and parliamentary leaders today in a search for Barnier's replacement.

Barnier and his government are set to stay on in a caretaker capacity until a new government is formed.

Macron and his allies want to appoint a replacement swiftly, three sources told Reuters, with one saying he wanted to do so before a ceremony on Saturday to reopen Notre-Dame Cathedral.

The president had lunch with Francois Bayrou, leader of allied centrists MoDem, whose name has been cited by French media as a possible successor to Barnier, Le Parisien newspaper reported.

The French parliament was left in a fractured state by the summer election, with the left wing Popular Front alliance winning the most seats, 193, but far from what was needed for a majority, 289 seats.

Popular Front was followed by: 

• Macron's Ensemble and allies on 166 seats
• Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally and allies on 142
• The conservative Republicans Party and their allies on 47

Despite winning the most seats, infighting among the Popular Front, which consists of seven parties, led to them being unable to agree on a candidate for prime minister.

Ensemble built a loose coalition with right wing politicians, in particular the Republicans, of which Barnier was a member and whom the National Rally had said they could work with.

But the Popular Front and National Rally went on to become unlikely bedfellows to bring down Barnier yesterday.

Macron has been weakened, but his term does not end until 2027 and a French president cannot be pushed out unless two thirds of politicians agree to invoke an article of the constitution that has never been used.

Thousands of public sector workers are on strike across France today as the country battles against a deepening political crisis. 

Earlier, we saw images of protesters in Marseille demonstrating "for a quality public service" (see 12.10 post).

There are similar scenes in Paris, where demonstrators have gathered to march across the capital.

Michel Barnier has submitted his resignation as France's prime minister.

The politician lost a vote of no-confidence in his government yesterday. 

He headed to the Elysee Palace this morning, leaving after an hour-long meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron.

Barnier and his government will stay on in a caretaker capacity until a new prime minister is nominated, the Elysee said in a statement.