French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu survived two no-confidence votes in parliament on Wednesday, clearing the way for the government to focus on another budget showdown in the coming days.
The no-confidence motions, tabled by the far-right National Assembly (RN) and the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI), were aimed at protesting the European Union’s trade deal with the Mercosur bloc.
Despite French opposition, EU member states last week approved the signing of the long-discussed agreement with Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. The RN and LFI accused the government of not doing enough to block it.
“Inside the country, you are a government of vassals serving the rich. Outside, you are humiliating our nation before the European Commission and the American empire,” LFI head Mathilde Panot told the government, speaking in parliament ahead of Wednesday’s no-confidence vote.
PM Says OPPOSITION LEADERS ARE ‘ACTING LIKE SPOILERS’
The Socialist Party ruled out supporting no-confidence motions, and the conservative The Republicans also said they would not vote for a no-confidence motion against the government over Mercosur.
As a result, both proposals failed. The one put forward by LFI received only 256 votes in favour, 32 votes short of what was needed for the motion to pass. The second proposal, presented by the extreme right, received 142 votes in favor and also failed.
Lecornu said the time spent on the no-confidence vote further delayed tense debates on the country’s 2026 budget, which he said political leaders should focus on instead.
“You are acting as snipers in waiting and shooting the executive in the back at a time when we have to face international disruption,” he said.
NEXT ON THE PROGRAM: TOUGH TALKS ABOUT THE BUDGET
One of several options for the 2026 budget would now be for Lecornu to invoke Article 49.3 of the constitution and push through the finance bill without a vote after negotiating the text with all groups except the RN and LFI, one government source said. This would almost certainly lead to further expressions of distrust.
Lawmakers are eager to end weeks of budget wrangling, even if it means the country’s deficit will remain close to 5%, the sources said.
President Emmanuel Macron wants a budget passed in January and is “neutral” on how to achieve it, according to those close to him.
Government spokeswoman Maud Bregeon said on Tuesday that “nothing is off the table” for the budget to be passed.
The political situation in France has been fragile since 2022, when Macron lost his majority in parliament.
His problems worsened when he unexpectedly called early parliamentary elections in mid-2024, only to ensure a hung parliament divided between three distinct ideological blocs: his centre-right alliance, the left and the RN.
