French PM survives first no-confidence vote

PARIS: 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.

The challenge in the National Assembly came after Bayrou’s statement this week on his government policy agenda, in which he opened the door to fresh talks on a 2023 pension reform “without taboo” but also said that France’s “excessive” deficits needed to be cut in this year’s budget.

The no-confidence motion won the backing of 131 deputies, well short of the 288 it needed to pass.