PARIS (AP) — France’s minority government survived a no-confidence vote on Tuesday, two weeks after taking office, clearing left-wing lawmakers’ first hurdle to ousting up-to-date conservative Prime Minister Michel Barnier.
The vote was a crucial test for Barnier, whose cabinet is forced to rely on the goodwill of the far right to stay in power as the country grapples with economic challenges exacerbated by global inflation become.
The motion of no confidence was submitted by a left-wing coalition, the New Popular Front, made up of the radical left parties France Unbowed, Socialists, Greens and Communists. It received 197 votes, a far cry from the 289 votes needed for passage.
After parliamentary elections in June and July, the National Assembly, France’s powerful lower house of parliament, is split into three major blocs: the New Popular Front, Macron’s centrist allies and the far-right Rassemblement National party. None of them achieved an absolute majority.
The far-right National Rally group, which includes 125 MPs, abstained from voting on the no-confidence motion. Far-right leader Marine Le Pen, herself an MP, said she had decided to give the government “a chance” for now.
Barnier’s cabinet is largely made up of members of his Republican Party and centrists from French President Emmanuel Macron’s alliance, totaling just over 210 MPs.
Left-wing MPs condemned Barnier’s election as prime minister because they were not given a chance to form a minority government despite having the most seats in the National Assembly. This government “is a denial of the result of the last general election,” the motion says.
Olivier Faure, leader of the Socialist Party, denounced a “democratic hijacking,” adding: “On July 7, it was the New Popular Front that came out on top.”
Barnier firmly rejected Fauré’s accusations that his government was “illegitimate”.
“I don’t want the government to be reminded that it is a minority government,” Barnier said. “Nobody has an absolute majority.”
The up-to-date government will soon face its biggest challenge as Barnier has made cleaning up France’s debt-ridden public finances a priority.
“The reality we have to tell the French is that we are spending too much… Things cannot continue like this,” Barnier said.
“We must restructure the (state) budget, reduce our public spending and we will in fact demand a special tax on companies and the richest French people… It is always better to take responsibility than to be popular.”
France is under pressure from the European Union’s executive body to reduce its enormous debt.
The country was subjected to a formal excessive debt procedure by the EU executive earlier this year, the first step in a long process before a member state can be narrowed down and persuaded to take corrective action.
In his inaugural speech to parliament last week, Barnier said he would seek to cut France’s deficit from a current estimated 6% of gross domestic product to 5% next year through a 60 billion ($66 billion) budget cut , to reach 3% by 2029.
To achieve this, he promised to cut government spending, spend money more “efficiently” and fight tax evasion and other fraud.
The government will formally present its draft 2025 budget on Thursday ahead of a heated debate in parliament as unions and left-wing opposition parties prepare to push back against some austerity measures.
