France’s left-wing opposition fails to oust government in no-confidence vote

The French National Assembly has rejected a no-confidence motion against the government, which was put forward by the left-wing opposition.

The motion, initiated by the leftist La France Insoumise (Insubordinate France) party, failed to secure the necessary votes, according to the results of the parliamentary session, which was broadcast live on the Assembly’s website, as per Caliber.Az.

The opposition proposed two separate no-confidence resolutions in response to Prime Minister François Bayrou’s decision to bypass parliament and push through the 2025 budget under his own authority. While the second resolution is scheduled for a future vote, reports from BFMTV suggest it has little chance of success.

During the vote, only 128 lawmakers supported the motion — far short of the 289 votes required for it to pass in the 577-seat National Assembly. Following the vote, Assembly Speaker Yaël Braun-Pivet confirmed, “The 2025 budget bill is therefore passed.”

On February 3, Prime Minister Bayrou defended his decision to push through the budget without a parliamentary vote, emphasizing the urgency of the matter. “Our country cannot function without a budget. This was an essential measure,” he stated in the National Assembly.

This move echoes the fate of Bayrou’s predecessor, Michel Barnier, whose government collapsed in December 2024 after a successful no-confidence motion was backed by the left-wing New Popular Front alliance, with additional support from the right-wing National Rally.

Before the 2025 budget was passed, France’s financial operations were managed under a temporary law that allowed public spending within the limits of the 2024 budget. However, a major challenge for the French economy remains its soaring public debt, which has now reached €3.2 trillion. The cost of servicing this debt alone exceeds €60 billion annually.

The New Popular Front is showing signs of internal division. In January, La France Insoumise attempted a previous no-confidence motion against Bayrou’s government, but their Socialist allies refused to support it. The Socialists boycotted the latest vote as well, further deepening tensions within the alliance.

Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the founder of the New Popular Front, declared that the bloc has effectively lost a member, stating, “The ‘New Popular Front’ has now shrunk by one party.” The remaining members include La France Insoumise, the Ecologists, and the French Communist Party. Meanwhile, Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure defended his party’s stance, rejecting what he called a strategy of chaos. “To be a socialist is to choose responsibility over disorder,” he asserted in the Assembly.

With the rejection of the no-confidence vote, Bayrou’s government is likely to remain in power at least until autumn. However, political analysts predict that France may be heading toward snap parliamentary elections later this year, as pressure continues to mount within the fractured political landscape.

By Tamilla Hasanova