Francois Bayrou jolted the political establishment out of its summer slumber Monday with his unexpected move to seek a Sept. 8 confidence vote on his debt-cutting plan.

France found itself mired in yet another crisis on Tuesday, after Prime Minister Francois Bayrou's gamble to win backing for his deeply unpopular debt-reduction plan backfired, plunging the country deeper into political and financial instability.

Prime Minister Francois Bayrou's minority government has opted to roll the dice with a confidence vote in a bid to get an unpopular budget through parliamant.