France's minority government is on the brink of collapse after Prime Minister Michel Barnier used special powers to force through his budget without a vote in parliament. Furious opposition parties said they would back a no-confidence motion to oust the former Brexit negotiator in a vote that could take place as early as Wednesday.

French Prime Minister Michel Barnier is bracing for a no-confidence vote in parliament on Wednesday in which parties from the left and the right are expected to join forces to oust him after he forced through his budget.

French lawmakers will vote on Wednesday on no-confidence motions which are all but certain to oust the government, throwing the euro zone's second-biggest economy deeper into a lingering political crisis.