French PM Lecornu survives no-confidence votes as budget moves forward

The French ‍government on Tuesday survived two ​votes of no-confidence in parliament over its decision ⁠to ram through the expenditure part of the 2026 budget without giving the National Assembly, France's lower house, the final say.

A total of 267 ​lawmakers in the National Assembly voted in favour of the no-confidence motion ‍presented by the hard-left France Unbowed party together with the Greens and Communists, whereas ​289 votes were required to bring down the government.

​Only 140 lawmakers backed a second no-confidence motion, brought by the far right National Rally party.

The motions came days after Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu weathered two separate, largely symbolic no-confidence challenges on Friday, triggered by his decision to ram through the income section of the 2026 state budget without a parliamentary vote.

Read moreFrench PM forces budget through parliament after surviving two no-confidence votes

He then announced he would do the same with the expense part of the budget, prompting the hard left to file another no-confidence motion.

The National Assembly on Tuesday rejected that motion, along with a separate one tabled by the far right.

Lecornu on Tuesday defended his decision, touting what he called a "breakthrough" budget that would boost defence spending by €6.5 billion ($7.78 billion) and urging a "long-term" view.

The bill must now be reviewed by the upper house before returning to the lower house National Assembly for final adoption. 

He will have to use the same constitutional power to force the whole bill into law, which will expose him to more no-confidence votes.

The decision to use the constitutional tool known as Article 49.3 marked an about-face for Lecornu, who pledged last year to seek parliament's approval, in a bid to avoid the fate of his two predecessors who were ousted over budget negotiations.

The eurozone's second-largest economy has been bogged down in political crises since Macron called a snap poll in 2024, in which he lost his parliamentary majority.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP and Reuters)