Sébastien Lecornu overcame two motions of no confidence presented in the French legislature in recent hours, granting his government some time
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French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu managed to overcome two motions of no confidence in the National Assembly on Thursday, saving his newly formed government from a possible collapse just one week after his appointment by President Emmanuel Macron.
The motions were submitted by parties from opposite extremes: the first by the far-left party La France Insoumise (LFI), and the second by the right-wing National Rally (RN) party, led by Marine Le Pen.
The first motion, promoted by LFI, received 271 votes in favor, falling just 18 votes short of the required threshold of 289 to bring down the government. This motion was seen as the most serious, due to the accumulated tensions over the unpopular pension reform proposed by the government.
In an attempt to avoid collapse, Lecornu offered to suspend the implementation of this reform until after the 2027 presidential elections, which proved key in persuading several Socialist deputies not to support the motion.
La primera votación resultó en un apretado resultado de 271 votos a favor, quedándose cortos por solo 18 votos
The second motion, submitted by National Rally, was considered from the outset to have little chance, since many parliamentarians did not want to be associated with Le Pen's party. It received only 144 votes, falling 145 votes short of the necessary number to be approved.
Despite having overcome both motions, the political situation of Lecornu and President Macron remains fragile. The lack of an absolute majority in the National Assembly has made governance difficult since the 2022 legislative elections.
The government's survival this time was due, in part, to a circumstantial alliance with moderate sectors of the left who, although they do not fully support the executive, consider an abrupt fall of the government to be more damaging.
Lecornu himself has acknowledged the gravity of the moment and has urged Parliament to work together to overcome the political crisis affecting the country. The next major challenge will be the approval of the 2026 budget, which includes austerity measures that have already been criticized by unions such as the General Confederation of Labor (CGT), which has called for protests on November 6.
El gobierno de Macron atraviesa durísimos momentos, con un complicadísimo panorama económico
France is experiencing a worrying economic situation: public debt stands at 114% of GDP, the third highest in the European Union, after Greece and Italy. In addition, the budget deficit was 5.8% in 2024, and the government has committed to the EU to reduce it to 4.7% in 2025. These figures place great pressure on the government to implement fiscal adjustments, despite social discontent and political fragmentation.
The president of the National Assembly, Yaël Braun-Pivet, loyal to Macron, emphasized the importance of governmental stability and expressed "moderate optimism" regarding the parliamentary debate on the budget. Nevertheless, she acknowledged that the road ahead will be complex and that there is still "a lot of play ahead."
From the opposition, reactions were swift. Jordan Bardella, Marine Le Pen's number two, denounced that the deputies who voted against the first motion are responsible for the "suffering to come", and accused centrist and moderate parties of forming a "negotiated majority" that saved the government at the expense of the national interest.
Marine Le Pen fue una de las grandes impulsoras de la moción
It is worth noting that some parliamentarians broke party discipline to vote in favor of the motion of no confidence. Seven Socialist deputies, a representative of the conservative party Les Républicains (Alexandra Martin), two independents, and a deputy from Guadeloupe joined the votes of LFI, RN, and other radical parties.
Although Lecornu has gained some time with these results, the weakness of his government is evident. The inability to form stable majorities and public rejection of some of his policies, especially the pension reform and austerity measures, foreshadow a difficult end of term for Macron, who will not be able to run for re-election in 2027.
