French PM survives 2 no-confidence votes in a day
Paris: French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou survived a second no-confidence vote, launched by the hard left-wing party La France Insoumise (LFI).
Only 122 French deputies voted in favour of the motion, falling well short of the 289 votes needed to oust Bayrou, Yael Braun-Pivet, Speaker of the French National Assembly, announced on Wednesday evening.
Earlier in the day, Bayrou had already survived a separate no-confidence vote, Xinhua news agency reported.
According to results announced by Braun-Pivet, only 128 deputies backed the motion.
LFI initiated two no-confidence motions against Bayrou after he invoked Article 49.3 of the French Constitution on Monday to push through France’s 2025 state budget bill and the first part of the Social Security financing bill without a parliamentary vote.
Without support from the far-right National Rally (RN) and its left-wing ally, the Socialist Party (PS), LFI failed to secure enough votes to unseat Bayrou in both attempts.
French President Emmanuel Macron appointed Bayrou as Prime Minister on December 13 after Michel Barnier was ousted in a no-confidence vote.
The survival of Bayrou’s government will be a relief for Macron who has faced calls to resign since the middle of last year but insisted he will stay on until the end of his term, due to end in 2027. Many analysts and even allies are still baffled by the President’s decision to call snap parliamentary elections last summer which gave the far right its biggest-ever foothold in a divided Parliament.
France has been embroiled in political instability since President Emmanuel Macron decided to call a surprise snap election in June, a move that delivered a fractious hung parliament in which no single party holds a majority.
Wrangling over the budget has rattled markets and toppled the government of Bayrou’s predecessor, Michel Barnier, after only three months.
Bayrou’s government, in turn, has survived due to expensive concessions to the left and far right to advance the legislation.
“This budget is not perfect. It is an emergency step as our country cannot live without a budget,” Bayrou told lawmakers ahead of the vote.
Meanwhile Finance Minister Eric Lombard said the failure of the no-confidence motion was “a good thing” for France.
The budget aims to reduce the deficit, raise taxes on large firms and the wealthy, and cut spending.