French government survives no-confidence votes as Socialists withhold support

PARIS – Two motions of no confidence filed by the hard-left France Unbowed and the far-right National Rally against Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu’s government were rejected on Thursday in the National Assembly.

The first motion, backed by 271 MPs from left-wing and far-right benches, fell short of the 289 votes required to topple the government. A second motion, tabled by the RN and supported by the Union of the Right for the Republic (UDR), secured only 144 votes.

The Socialist Party had previously announced it would not censure the government, opting instead to allow parliamentary debate to continue. On Tuesday, Lecornu moved to suspend the controversial 2023 pension reform until the 2027 presidential election – a key condition set by the Socialists to open talks on the budget.

Socialist MP Laurent Baumel cautioned that rejecting the motion did not constitute a long-term “non-censure pact”, insisting that the pension suspension must be enshrined in law. “The very survival of your government now depends on this commitment,” he warned.

Despite party instructions, seven Socialist MPs voted in favour of the France Unbowed motion.

Parliament is due to begin examination of the 2026 budget on Monday.

(cs)