Sri Lanka, Sept. 9 -- French President Emmanuel Macron is seeking his fifth prime minister in less than two years after opposition parties united to kick out centre-right Prime Minister Francois Bayrou over his unpopular plans for budget tightening.

Bayrou, handed a 364-194 defeat in a parliamentary confidence vote on Monday, will officially hand in his resignation to Macron during Tuesday.

Whoever Macron picks to succeed him will face the near impossible task of uniting parliament and finding ways to get a budget for next year adopted.

Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu's name was among those circulating, with other options being to pick someone from the centre-left, or a technocrat.

There are no rules governing who Macron should cho...