PARIS (Reuters) -French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou faced a backlash on Thursday after saying he didn’t hold talks with the opposition in August to try and avoid a political crisis because everyone but him was on holiday.

Bayrou announced on Monday he would hold a confidence vote in parliament on September 8 to try and break a stalemate over the 2026 budget.

The centrist prime minister, who is very likely to lose that vote and be out of office as the main opposition parties say they will vote against him, said he would meet with opposition leaders next week to try and convince them to change their minds and back him.

Asked by TF1 TV on Wednesday why he had not invited them for talks earlier, Bayrou said: “Because they were on holiday.”

“In August, they were all on holiday,” he added

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