France | The Bayrou government faces a first motion of censure

(Paris) The new French Prime Minister François Bayrou faces a first test on Thursday with the examination in the National Assembly of a motion of censure which has little chance of being adopted, but will give an idea of ​​the balance of power before the budget test.

In a context of unprecedented instability for decades and while France still has no budget for this year, in the afternoon the deputies examine the 150^e motion of censure of the V^e Republic, regime in place since 1958.

The text was tabled by the radical left party La France insoumise (LFI) against the minority government formed by the centrist, who a month ago became the fourth prime minister in France in a year.

It was also signed by communist and environmentalist deputies.

In the PS, after long discussions, the decision not to vote for censure was taken on Thursday by the party’s national office following heated debates, according to one of its participants.

The Socialist Party has not ruled out voting for the next censorship during the budget, and will reiterate its “requirements” in this area as part of its negotiations with the government.

The Prime Minister had already announced the resumption of the highly contested pension reform and the abandonment of 4,000 job cuts in National Education. Thursday, in an attempt to rally the socialists, François Bayrou made final concessions, confirming the abandonment of the project to extend the waiting period – from one to three days – for civil service agents in the event of an arrest. illness and the “maintenance” of the proposed tax on high incomes.

“One position only”

“It is absolutely necessary that socialists have only one position. Otherwise we send the government the signal that it can shop with us and we send [au leader de LFI] Jean-Luc Mélenchon the signal that he can go shopping with us,” argued a PS deputy.

“The socialists have made fools of themselves and tarnished the credibility [de l’alliance de gauche du] New Popular Front […]. Political life is binary: if we do not vote for censorship, we support the government,” said the national coordinator of LFI Manuel Bompard.

The vote on the motion of no confidence is scheduled for around 5:30 p.m. (11:30 a.m. Eastern Time) and the result should be known around 6 p.m. (12 p.m. Eastern Time).

Mr Bayrou is seeking to avoid suffering the same fate as his conservative predecessor Michel Barnier, whose government was overthrown after three months by an alliance of left and far-right MPs, without succeeding in passing a budget.

The 73-year-old centrist is navigating a fragmented political scene resulting from the anticipated legislative elections, organized after the surprise dissolution of the Assembly by President Emmanuel Macron in June.

The hemicycle now finds itself fractured into three blocks: alliance of the left, Macronists and centrists, extreme right. But none has an absolute majority.

Priority: the budget

But while Mr. Barnier had tried in vain to obtain a “non-censorship” commitment from the far right, François Bayrou is banking on the socialists.

He therefore launched intense negotiations with them centered on pension reform, which had caused major demonstrations in 2023, by raising the retirement age from 62 to 64.

If the PS chose to vote for censure, the government would not fall, because the far-right National Rally (RN) party has decided not to join in. It is then impossible for this text to reach the 288 votes necessary for its adoption.

The vote will mainly serve to clarify the balance of power on the left, and the positioning of the PS vis-à-vis the Bayrou government, as the decisive deadlines for the State and Social Security budgets approach.

An early supporter of Emmanuel Macron, Mr. Bayrou announced that his government was targeting a public deficit of 5.4% of GDP this year, compared to 6.1% expected for 2024. France posted the worst performance of the Twenty -Seven with the exception of Romania, far from the 3% ceiling allowed by EU rules.