By Ilayda Cakirtekin
ISTANBUL (AA) – The government of France’s reappointed Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu survived its first no-confidence vote on Thursday, falling short of the 289 votes required to bring down the government.
A total of 271 deputies voted in favor and 18 against the no-confidence motion, leading the National Assembly to reject the motion by the far-left France Unbowed (LFI) party.
A second motion, proposed by the far-right National Rally (RN), is now moving towards a vote but is also widely expected to be defeated.
Olivier Faure, the first secretary of the Socialist Party, which has also signaled they could file a no-confidence motion, said that they will not censure the government "as long as Parliament is respected."
The center-left party’s stance came after Lecornu announced that he would suspend implementation of controversial pension reforms until the next presidential election, responding to a key demand from the opposition left.
The pension reforms, pushed through in 2023 under then-Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne and defended by successive governments, seeks to gradually raise France’s retirement age from 62 to 64, triggering one of the longest waves of strikes in decades.
Lecornu, who returned to office last week after briefly resigning amid political turmoil, told lawmakers that he would propose a bill this fall to freeze the reforms until January 2028.
- Months of political turbulence
France is going through a period of government instability, marked by repeated Cabinet collapses and ongoing budget standoffs.
Prime Minister Michel Barnier’s center-right government fell last December after losing a confidence vote over the 2025 budget. His successor, Francois Bayrou, faced similar challenges when his controversial 2026 draft budget, which included plans to abolish several public holidays to save €43 billion ($50.1 billion), failed to win parliamentary approval.
Bayrou’s government lost a confidence vote this September, paving the way for President Emmanuel Macron to appoint then-Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu as prime minister on Sept. 9, though he stepped down on Oct. 6 after less than a month in office.
Macron reappointed Lecornu on Oct. 10.
Lecornu’s first government lasted barely a day, he resigned under pressure on Oct. 6, only to be reappointed on Oct. 10. His new Cabinet, unveiled on Oct. 12, immediately faced two no-confidence motions from RN and LFI lawmakers, both due to be debated on Oct. 16.