French President Emmanuel Macron has come under pressure to name a new prime minister quickly after François Bayrou lost a vote of no confidence and on Tuesday handed him his resignation.
The fall of Bayrou's government came as no surprise, because a majority in France's hung parliament staunchly opposed Bayrou's bid to bring down France's spiralling debt with €44bn (£38bn) budget cuts.
However, Macron is still faced with one of the highest budget deficits in the eurozone and mounting criticism from political opponents.
France is also facing a day of protests on Wednesday from a nebulous grassroots movement called Bloquons Tout - Let's Block Everything, and authorities are planning to deploy 80,000 police.
As Monday's confidence vote was called by Bayrou himself, Macron has had weeks to prepare his next step. He has already made clear he will choose a new prime minister in the coming days - the fifth since he won a second term as president in 2022.
Whoever the president ends up choosing will be in the unenviable position of having to face a hung parliament split into three factions deeply at odds with one another.
Speculation over potential frontrunners began swirling even before Bayrou's government fell, with names from Assembly speaker Yaël Braun-Pivet to current defence minister Sébastien Lecornu being floated.
However, commentators believe Macron will need support from the left or centre-left camp to ensure support from the Socialists and the centrists and give the new prime minister a fighting chance of passing a much-needed budget tackling France's debt.
Macron ally and ex-prime minister Gabriel Attal has deplored the state of permanent instability plaguing France and urged Macron to find a technocrat negotiator to find common ground between political leaders together before naming a prime minister.
Attal's suggestion was immediately rubbished as total nonsense by Marine Le Pen of the far-right National Rally who is among those calling for fresh parliamentary elections.
But a new vote at this stage was implicitly rejected by Macron promising a new prime minister would be announced in a matter of days.
Authorities are bracing for nationwide disruption on Wednesday, with the Bloquons Tout movement urging citizens to bring the country to a standstill through protest and acts of civil disobedience against austerity, contempt and humiliation. Although it is unclear how many people will heed the group's call, on Tuesday right-wing interior minister Bruno Retailleau acknowledged 100,000 could take part across France and promised to mobilise police to face organised and seasoned groups who seek violence.
Bruno Retailleau also highlighted the need for a stable prime minister to maintain order, especially as a decision from credit agency Fitch is expected which could affect France's borrowing costs amid mounting debt concerns.
