French Prime Minister François Bayrou survived a no-confidence vote in parliament on Tuesday, as lawmakers from the far-right National Rally (RN) chose not to support the motion proposed by his left-wing opponents.
The motion received 189 votes, falling significantly short of the number required to remove the government.
Although Bayrou survived his eighth no-confidence vote since assuming office last December, his position as prime minister seems increasingly unstable, Reuters news agency reports.
He now faces a situation similar to that of his predecessor, Michel Barnier, whose three-month tenure ended when the National Rally brought his government down.
Officials from the National Rally, the largest party in the National Assembly but without a majority, declared they would not support the no-confidence motion. Instead, they plan to hold off until later in the year, when even more challenging negotiations over the 2026 budget could once again put France’s government at risk.
Bayrou is struggling to secure €40 billion in spending cuts for the 2026 budget.
The Socialists submitted the no-confidence motion after months of negotiations to modify the contentious pension reform failed to reach an agreement. Bayrou had initiated the talks to win Socialist backing against an earlier no-confidence vote, but their fragile alliance has now collapsed.
RN party leader Jordan Bardella, speaking on CNews on Monday, gave no sign that the party would support the no-confidence motion. Instead, he urged President Emmanuel Macron to dissolve parliament and hold new legislative elections.
Macron, whose second and final presidential term ends in 2027, called a snap parliamentary election last year following the RN’s strong performance in the European Parliament elections. He will be able to dissolve Parliament again from 8th July.
“I don't see how anything healthy can emerge between now and 2027,” Bardella stated.