• Opposition unites to topple Bayrou’s minority govt.
• Francois Bayrou to address Assembly before voting.
• Macron calls on parties to demonstrate “responsibility”.

France’s parliament is expected to oust Prime Minister Francois Bayrou on Monday after just nine months in office, plunging the key EU member into new political uncertainty and creating a painful dilemma for President Emmanuel Macron.

Bayrou blindsided even his allies by calling a confidence vote to end a months-long standoff over his austerity budget, which foresees almost 44 billion euros ($52 billion) of cost savings to reduce France´s debt pile.

Opposition parties across the board have made it clear they will vote against his minority government, making it highly improbable he will get enough backing to survive — he needs a majority of the 577 MPs in the National Assembly.

Bayrou will become the second French prime minister in succession to have suffered such a fate after Michel Barnier was ejected in December after only three months in office.

Bayrou, the sixth prime minister under Macron since 2017, has given no indication in days of TV interviews that he expects to survive the vote.

Instead, he has asked: “Has our country understood the seriousness of the situation it finds itself in?”

He is expected to address parliament in a final bid for support from 1300 GMT with the vote awaited from 1700 GMT.

Poor polls

After the vote, Macron will face one of the most critical decisions of his presidency: appointing the seventh prime minister of his mandate to thrash out a compromise, or call snap elections in a bid to have a more accommodating parliament.

The president is spearheading European efforts to end Russia´s war on Ukraine, boosting his international profile.

But polling at home does not make pretty reading, and he is forbidden from standing a third time in 2027.

According to a poll by Odoxa-Backbone for Le Figaro newspaper, 64% of French want Macron to resign rather than name a new prime minister, a move he has explicitly ruled out.

Some 77% of people do not approve of his work, Macron’s worst-ever such rating, according to an Ifop poll for the Ouest-France daily.

Addressing the crisis after an international summit on Ukraine, Macron called on French political forces on Thursday to demonstrate “responsibility” and ensure “stability”.

“The reshaping of the world is changing many things for our Europe. In this context, France must continue to move forward,” he said.

But alongside political upheavals, France is also facing social tension.

A left-wing collective calling itself “Block Everything” is calling for a day of action on September 10 and trade unions have urged workers to strike on September 18.

Sleeping giant

There is no guarantee an election would result in any improvement in the fortunes of Macron’s centre-right bloc in parliament.

But there are signs that the president could be eyeing cooperation with the Socialist Party (PS), a one time giant of French politics that has fallen into the doldrums in recent years.

At a meeting on Tuesday of the centrist parties that support him, Macron urged them to “work with the Socialists”, a participant said, asking not to be named. All those present were opposed to snap elections, the person added.

Socialist leader Olivier Faure has made no secret of his readiness to take the post of prime minister, even producing his own draft budget.

But Socialist backing would not automatically attract support from other left-wing forces.

“It would be workable if the Socialist Party says: ‘We’re overthrowing the alliance and governing with the central bloc,'” said a close associate of Macron, adding that for now the president is keeping his cards close to his chest.

• 16-year-old suspect attacks police station in Balcova.
• Teenager has no criminal record, previous arrests: governor.
•  Assailant used “long-barrelled gun” in attack, says media.

ISTANBUL: Two policemen were killed and two others wounded in a shooting attack on a police station near the Turkish city of Izmir on Monday, and a 16-year-old suspect was arrested, a minister said.

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said the “heinous” attack on the police station in Balcova, a district just west of the resort city, left two officers dead and a third “seriously injured”.

“The suspect in the incident, 16-year-old EB, has been arrested and an investigation has been opened,” he wrote on X.

Speaking to Turkish media at the scene, Izmir governor Suleyman Elban said the suspect lived on the same road as the police station and was injured during his arrest.

“The murder suspect is a 16-year-old who lives on this street. He has no criminal record or previous arrests for any crime,” he told the private NTV television, saying the teenager was “apprehended with injuries”.

It was not immediately clear why the station was attacked but footage posted by the Gercek Gundem news website showed mobile phone footage of a person in a balaclava, a black top and pale trousers jogging along the pavement carrying a rifle and then entering a building.

Another clip widely published showed the alleged attacker lying on the pavement being attended by paramedics.

He appeared to be conscious but the back of his trousers were covered with blood and multiple bullet cases were lying the ground.

A third clip showed a group of civilians helping to manhandle the suspect into a police van.

The DHA news agency said the assailant had used “a long-barrelled gun”, while NTV described the weapon as a “pump-action shotgun”.

Police immediately fanned out across the area, imposing tight security measures, media reports said.

Izmir Mayor Cemil Tugay denounced a “treacherous” attack and sent his condolences to the families of the dead in a post on X.

An Australian woman convicted of murdering three elderly relatives of her estranged husband with a meal containing poisonous mushrooms was sentenced to a minimum of 33 years in prison on Monday, in one of the longest jail terms ever given to a woman in the country.

The presiding judge said Erin Patterson showed no pity for her in-laws after she served them individual portions of Beef Wellington laced with death cap mushrooms.

Patterson was found guilty in July of killing her mother-in-law, Gail Patterson, father-in-law, Donald Patterson and Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson, in a case that has been globally followed and dubbed the Leongatha mushroom murders.

A jury also found the 50-year-old guilty of the attempted murder of Ian Wilkinson, Heather’s husband, who survived the 2023 meal at Patterson’s home in Leongatha, a town of about 6,000 people, some 135 km (84 miles) southeast of Melbourne.

Justice Christopher Beale said the substantial planning of the murders and Patterson’s lack of remorse meant her sentence should be lengthy.

“The devastating impact of your crimes is not limited to your direct victims. Your crimes have harmed a great many people,” he said at the sentencing hearing at the Supreme Court of Victoria in Melbourne.

“Not only did you cut short three lives and cause lasting damage to Ian Wilkinson’s health, thereby devastating the extended Patterson and Wilkinson families, you inflicted untold suffering on your own children, whom you robbed of their beloved grandparents.”

Ian Wilkinson thanked the police and prosecutors who brought Patterson to justice, as well as medical teams that treated him and the other victims.

“We’re thankful that when things go wrong, there are good people and services and systems available to help us recover,” he said outside the court.

Solitary confinement

At a pre-sentencing hearing last month, Patterson’s barrister Colin Mandy urged Beale to impose a non-parole period on the sentence, meaning she would have the possibility of eventual release, as her “notorious” reputation would make prison more onerous for her than the average offender.

A corrections officer previously told the court Patterson was being kept in isolation for her own safety, and was permitted contact with only one other prisoner who is in jail for terrorism offences.

In his sentencing remarks, Beale said he had taken Patterson’s isolation into account.

“You have effectively been held in continuous solitary confinement for the last 15 months, and at the very least there is a substantial chance that for your protection you will continue to be held in solitary confinement for years to come,” Beale said.

Including time already served, Patterson will have just turned 82 before she can be considered for release.

The prosecution argued Patterson should never be released.

Patterson, who maintained her innocence throughout the trial and said the poisonings were accidental, has 28 days to appeal her sentence. She has not indicated whether she will do so.

Patterson’s non-parole period of 33 years is the longest ever for a woman convicted of murder in Victoria.

Only one woman in Australia has ever received a life sentence without the possibility of parole.

Australia does not have the death penalty.

Media frenzy

The deaths devastated the close-knit rural community of Korumburra, where all the victims lived.

The court received a total of 28 victim impact statements, of which seven were read publicly at last month’s hearings.

Ian Wilkinson, a pastor at a local church and the sole surviving guest of the lunch, told last month’s hearing that the death of his wife had left him bereft.

“It’s a truly horrible thought to live with that somebody could decide to take her life. I only feel half alive without her,” he said, breaking down in tears as he delivered his victim impact statement.

The extraordinary media interest in the case, which gripped Australia for much of the 10-week trial, had been traumatic for the family, Erin Patterson’s estranged husband Simon Patterson – who was invited to the lunch but declined – said at the same hearing.

Journalists and television crews from around the world descended on the town of Morwell when the trial began in April, with millions of Australians following proceedings live through one of several popular daily podcasts.

For the first time in its history, the Supreme Court on Monday allowed a television camera into the court to broadcast Beale’s sentencing remarks live due to overwhelming public interest.

The trial has already inspired several books, documentaries, and a drama series, “Toxic”, set to air on state broadcaster ABC.