 "French PM François Bayrou survives no-confidence vote amid budget controversy")
French Prime Minister François Bayrou survived a no-confidence vote on Wednesday after the far-right National Rally announced it would not seek to topple the government over its budget.
According to a Politico report, only 128 lawmakers supported the measure, significantly short of the 289 votes required for approval.
Before the vote, lawmaker Yoann Gillet, representing the National Rally, criticised the censure as a “masquerade,” arguing that it made little mathematical sense for his party to support the measure given its apparent lack of necessary backing, even with far-right votes.
He clarified, however, that his party opposed Bayrou’s spending plans, labeling them a “racket organised on the backs of those who work and produce in our country”, reported Politico.
Far-left lawmakers have introduced two no-confidence motions against the prime minister after he invoked special constitutional powers to force through the 2025 budget.
The tool, known as Article 49.3, allows the minority government to pass the legislation without a parliamentary vote.
National Rally President Jordan Bardella had previously suggested that his party would not seek to bring down Bayrou’s two-month-old government.
On Monday, Bayrou activated a constitutional provision that allows him to push through portions of France’s budget without a parliamentary vote. However, this strategy also enables lawmakers to introduce no-confidence motions, which are unlikely to succeed without support from the far right.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsBayrou’s minority government relies on a slim coalition of centrist and conservative lawmakers and lacks sufficient backing to pass a budget without utilizing this maneuver, permitted under Article 49.3 of the constitution. To survive a no-confidence vote, the government requires at least one major opposition party to abstain.
The centrist prime minister is expected to invoke Article 49.3 two more times to implement the remaining legislation associated with the 2025 budget, potentially leading to additional no-confidence votes in the coming days.
With inputs from agencies
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