French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou passed the first test of his new minority government on Thursday as he survived a vote of no-confidence called by the hard left after the centre-left Socialist Party did not back the motion.

Only 131 lawmakers voted for motion, far from 289 votes required to adopt it, Socialist Party criticized for not backing motion - Anadolu Ajansı

The precariousness of Bayrou’s position is underscored by comparisons to his predecessor Michel Barnier, who was ousted after just three months in office. Barnier’s downfall came when the far-right National Rally (RN), led by Marine Le Pen, withdrew its support over disagreements on his 2025 budget proposal.

French Prime Minister François Bayrou survived his first major test in the National Assembly on Thursday after Socialist lawmakers and the far-right National Rally chose not to support a

France's centre-left Socialist party will not back a no-confidence vote against Prime Minister Francois Bayrou on Thursday, its leader said, which will enable Bayrou's minority government to live to fight another day.

PARIS (Reuters) - The French centre-left Socialist party will not back a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Francois Bayrou's government, Le Figaro reported on Thursday, citing an intra-party meeting.

According to the results announced by Yael Braun-Pivet, speaker of the French National Assembly, only 131 deputies voted in favor of the no-confidence vote, far below the 289 votes requested. This is the first no-confidence vote that Bayrou has faced after the formation of his government on Dec. 23, 2024.

French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou on Thursday survived his first vote of no confidence in parliament after the motion, brought by the leftist opposition, failed to gain traction on the far right