French PM Lecornu survives 2 confidence votes days after reappointment
Sebastien Lecornu secured fragile support to pass an austerity budget amid political turmoil and reform backlash
French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu weathered two confidence motions on Thursday, just days after appointing his new government and making a key political concession to stay in power.
The votes followed Lecornu’s decision on Tuesday to back suspending a divisive 2023 pension reform, in a bid to keep his cabinet afloat long enough to pass a much-needed austerity budget by year’s end.
The leftist Socialist Party (PS) had threatened to vote to oust the premier if he didn’t move to freeze the reform that would raise the retirement age from 62 to 64.
Without PS support, two separate motions brought on Thursday by the hard-left France Unbowed and far-right National Rally fell short of the votes needed to topple Lecornu.
But PS lawmaker Laurent Baumel warned on Thursday that sparing the premier “was in no way a pact” for the future, urging “new concessions” in the looming budget talks.
France, the euro zone’s second-largest economy, has been mired in political paralysis since President Emmanuel Macron called snap elections last year aiming to consolidate his power.