Paris Reuters —

French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou will hold a high-stakes confidence vote in parliament on September 8 over unpopular plans to clean up France ’s public finances.

If he loses the confidence vote, Bayrou’s minority government will fall.

The center-right prime minister acknowledged seeking the confidence of a very fragmented parliament was a risky bet.

“Yes it’s risky, but it’s even riskier not to do anything,” he told a press conference, referring to what he said was the major danger the country faced due to its huge debt pile.

The confidence vote, he said, will gauge whether he has enough support in parliament for his 44 billion euro ($51.51 billion) budget squeeze, as he tries to tame a budget deficit that hit 5.8% of gross domestic product last year, near

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