French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou survived his latest no-confidence motion in parliament on Tuesday, after far-right National Rally (RN) lawmakers refrained from backing a measure brought by his opponents on the left.
The measure garnered 189 votes, falling well short of the threshold needed to oust the government.
Despite surviving his eighth no-confidence motion since taking office last December, Bayrou’s premiership appears increasingly shaky. He now finds himself in the same position as his predecessor Michel Barnier, whose three-month stint as prime minister ended after the National Rally called time on his rule.
Officials from the RN – the single largest party in the National Assembly but short of a majority – said they would not back the no-confidence motion. They prefer to refrain until later in the year, when even more complex talks over passing the 2026 budget threaten to once again topple France’s government.
Bayrou faces an uphill challenge to secure 40 billion euros in spending cuts for the 2026 budget.
The Socialists filed the no-confidence motion after months-long talks to tweak the country’s disputed pension reform ended without a deal. Bayrou convened the talks to secure the Socialists’ support against an earlier no-confidence motion, but their fragile accord is now dead.
RN party president Jordan Bardella, interviewed on CNews on Monday, gave no indication the RN would back the no-confidence measure. Instead, he called on French President Emmanuel Macron to dissolve parliament and call fresh legislative elections.
Macron, whose second and final term as president will end in 2027, called a snap parliamentary vote last year after the RN surged in European Parliament elections. He can dissolve Parliament again from July 8.
“I don’t see how anything healthy can emerge between now and 2027,” Bardella said.
(Reporting by Elizabeth Pineau and Gabriel Stargardter; )
