French PM Lecornu survives twin no-confidence votes

PARIS:  French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu narrowly escaped two no-confidence votes on Friday, as opposition efforts to unseat him fell short amid growing divisions and political turbulence in the National Assembly.

Both motions required 289 votes in favour to pass. The first, initiated by the far-left La France Insoumise (LFI), narrowly failed by just 18 votes, reflecting growing discontent within the National Assembly.

The second motion — backed by Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN) — was widely expected to fail, as most lawmakers avoided aligning with the far-right bloc.

While Lecornu remains in office for now, recent history shows how fragile his position could be. Last month, François Bayrou was forced to step down after calling a vote of no-confidence in himself, while Michel Barnier resigned in December 2024 after losing a similar vote.

The Prime Minister now faces the difficult task of steering a minority government through the upcoming 2026 budget negotiations and managing an increasingly fragmented National Assembly, where consensus is harder than ever to achieve.