French Prime Minister Bayrou survives another no-confidence vote

French Prime Minister François Bayrou survived another no-confidence vote on Wednesday.

The vote was requested by the left-wing La France Insoumise because Bayrou on Monday made use of a special article in the constitution to push through a budget for 2025 without a vote in the National Assembly.

The no-confidence motion did not succeed as the Socialist Party and the right-wing nationalists supported Bayrou.

The leftists submitted two no-confidence motions. After the first failed vote, a second vote was scheduled for Wednesday evening, which in all likelihood will also fail to secure a majority.

In December, France’s left-wing camp, together with Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally, had brought down the minority government of Bayrou’s predecessor Michel Barnier with a vote of no confidence in a dispute over the budget.

The left-wing party then tabled a motion of no confidence against the new government formed shortly before Christmas, immediately after Bayrou’s first government statement.

But even in this vote in mid-January, most of the socialist MPs did not withdraw their confidence in the government, nor did Le Pen’s nationalists on the right.