France’s government narrowly escaped collapse on Thursday, surviving a pivotal no-confidence vote in Parliament. This provides a brief moment of calm after weeks of intense political turmoil, but a far more challenging fight looms: passing the national budget.
The motion, initiated by the far-left France Unbowed party, garnered 271 votes in the 577-seat lower house. This fell just short of the 289 votes needed to secure an absolute majority and oust Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu and his cabinet.
A subsequent no-confidence motion, put forth by the far-right National Rally party, received even less backing, with only 144 lawmakers supporting it.
Mr. Lecornu’s narrow victory offers France a chance to catch its breath after a period of intense political instability that had thrown the nation into deep uncertainty about its direction and put considerable pressure on its economy. A successful vote would have marked the government’s second collapse in under two weeks.
[Image: Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu of France addresses the National Assembly in Paris on Thursday, just before the no-confidence vote on his government. Credit: Benoit Tessier/Reuters]
“This is undeniably the moment of truth,” Lecornu stated to lawmakers ahead of the vote, urging them, “Do not hold the national budget and our social security funding hostage.”
However, Thursday’s outcome was widely anticipated. Earlier in the week, Mr. Lecornu had made a significant concession to the moderate left-wing Socialist Party: a proposal to delay an unpopular pension overhaul, which sought to raise the legal retirement age from 62 to 64. This strategic move was critical to securing the Socialist Party’s support and thwarting the no-confidence efforts.
Mr. Lecornu’s government, a centrist administration and a key ally of President Emmanuel Macron, marks France’s fourth in less than a year. It stands as the latest in a series of fragile, center-right minority cabinets appointed by an increasingly unpopular President Macron.
Last week, Mr. Lecornu resigned after serving less than a month, only to be reappointed days later. This decision sparked outrage among opponents who had demanded that President Macron either call for immediate legislative elections or step down himself.
While the French president has staunchly refused to resign, he had previously warned of snap elections if Mr. Lecornu’s government fell. Thursday’s survival has averted that immediate crisis, but this period of calm may prove fleeting.
Mr. Lecornu now faces the arduous task of securing a budget approval in a notoriously fractious lower house. This assembly is characterized by disparate factions—including a collection of fragmented left-wing parties, a fragile centrist coalition, a diminished conservative party, and a potent far-right bloc—all of whom find common ground on very few issues. It is highly probable that more no-confidence votes will emerge in the weeks and months ahead.
The parliamentary debate over the budget, which must be finalized by year-end, could ignite further clashes between the government and the Socialist Party, particularly concerning disagreements on strategies to reduce France’s national deficit.
Meanwhile, other left-wing factions criticize the Socialists for supporting Mr. Lecornu’s government in exchange for the pension reform delay, arguing that the government might not even endure the upcoming budget debates.
“All of you who were elected to repeal the pension reform, are you truly going to allow yourselves to be deceived by this deceptive concession?” Aurélie Trouvé, a lawmaker representing the France Unbowed party, challenged the lower house prior to the vote.
[Image: Aurélie Trouvé, a lawmaker from the France Unbowed party, speaking at the National Assembly in Paris on Thursday. Credit: Benoit Tessier/Reuters]
Highlighting internal divisions, seven lawmakers from or associated with the Socialist Party defied their party’s stance and voted for the no-confidence motion. Despite this, the Socialist Party’s leadership maintains its commitment to holding Mr. Lecornu accountable for his promises, including advocating for measures such as a new wealth tax.
“Should these commitments not be honored, especially regarding the pension overhaul, we will promptly move to censure them,” stated Olivier Faure, leader of the Socialist Party, to reporters at the National Assembly following the vote.
Additional reporting by Ségolène Le Stradic.