France’s PM survives confidence vote

France's recently-formed government, led by Prime Minister Francois Bayrou, passed a major test on Thursday when it survived a confidence vote in the National Assembly.

131 lawmakers voted in favor of bringing down Bayrou but that was well short of the 288 votes needed.

An alliance led by the hard-left France Unbowed party had threatened to bring down Bayrou, but the crisis was averted when Socialist Party members and those from the far-right National Rally party, or RN, decided not to back the motion.

Before the vote, Yael Braun-Pivet, president of the parliament, told television channel TF1 that parties needed to put tribalism aside or risk bogging the country down in fresh political turmoil.

"Today, we must all come together and get over our differences, to get the country moving forward and to be able to respond to matters of great importance," she said, adding that a successful vote would mean the progress of important farming legislation would be halted, and also special measures being introduced to help the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte, which was devastated by a recent cyclone.

Bayrou was appointed in December and was the fourth person to hold the office in 2024, following the snap election that was called in the summer by President Emmanuel Macron, who has since admitted that it only led to greater instability, rather than resolving problems.

Bayrou's predecessor as prime minister, Michel Barnier, made concessions to RN in his efforts to find a political way forward, only for his short term in office to be ended when RN assembly members voted against him in a confidence vote, which led to Bayrou's appointment.

He has opted to seek support from left-wing groups, particularly over the long-running issue of pension reforms, an extremely politically divisive issue that Macron has long championed.

"I'm choosing to put this subject back on the agenda, with the social partners, for a short time and under transparent conditions," Bayrou said during his first address to the National Assembly earlier this week.

Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure had earlier threatened to withdraw the support of his members unless they received "a clear answer" to their questions over pensions, but it looks like Bayrou's change of position over the matter, and pledge not to cut jobs in public education won them over.

France Unbowed leader Jean-Luc Melenchon reacted angrily to the Socialists' decision not to defeat the prime minister, accusing them of "breaking apart" the left-wing coalition known as the New Popular Front.

RN could yet pose problems further down the line, however. Party president Jordan Bardella has criticized Bayrou's negotiations with the Socialists and warned that there are issues that could see RN withdraw its support for the budget, such as any measures to increase the cost of medication, or to provide more healthcare to migrants in the country illegally.

julian@mail.chinadailyuk.com