French Parliament rejects motion against government and keeps prime minister in office.
In total, 128 parliamentarians voted in favor of the first motion, far fewer than the 289 votes needed.
PARIS (Reuters) French Prime Minister François Bayrou survived a first vote of no confidence in Parliament on Wednesday, requested by the far-left, as the motion did not have the support of either the far-right National Rally (RN) or the center-left Socialists.
In total, 128 parliamentarians voted in favor of the first motion, far fewer than the 289 votes needed.
Far-left lawmakers have filed two motions of no confidence against the prime minister after he invoked special constitutional powers to force the approval of the 2025 budget.
The tool, known as Article 49.3, allows minority governments to pass legislation without a parliamentary vote.
The second vote of no confidence is expected to take place later today, Wednesday.
Both the National Rally and the Socialist Party signaled before the votes that they would not support the motion because France needs a budget, although the Socialists said that at a later date they would present a separate motion of no confidence regarding Bayrou's recent comments on immigration.
Bayrou said that many French people feel "overwhelmed" by immigration, a statement he has defended ever since, even though it briefly hampered budget negotiations. This motion is also unlikely to pass.
France has been grappling with political instability since President Emmanuel Macron decided to call an early election in June, resulting in a fragmented Parliament in which no single party holds a majority.
(Reporting by Makini Brice, Dominique Vidalon and Sudip Kar-Gupta)
