French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu survived two no-confidence votes in parliament today, securing a brief reprieve for his new government and a chance to deliver the 2026 budget.
The first no-confidence motion was brought by the far-left France Unbowed party, but it received only 271 votes-18 short of the 289 needed to remove the government.
Lecornu was able to stay in office with the support of the Socialist Party, which backed him after he agreed to delay the pension reform until after the next presidential election in 2027.
The second attempt, led by the far-right National Rally, failed by a wider margin. To win support from the opposition Socialists, Lecornu suspended President Emmanuel Macron’s contested pension reform, a move that risks unravelling one of Macron’s key economic policies. The move to delay pension changes gives Lecornu a temporary reprieve in a deeply divided National Assembly. However, the vote highlighted ongoing instability within Macron’s administration midway through his final term.
On the other hand, emboldened by their role in the vote, the Socialists are demanding further concessions, including a tax on billionaires.
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