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French Prime Minister S\u00e9bastien Lecornu faces two no-confidence motions in parliament on Thursday, although his chance of being ousted are seen as slim.<\/p>\n
Lecornu on Tuesday announced the suspension of an unpopular pension reform that raised the retirement age from 62 to 64, a signature policy measure of President Emmanuel Macron’s second term.<\/p>\n
The concession secured Lecornu support from the Socialists, who had demanded the pause as a condition for tolerating the fragile centre-right government.<\/p>\n
But lawmakers in France are not bound by party-line voting, making the outcome of the no-confidence motions tabled by left-wing and far-right parties far from certain.<\/p>\n
If Lecornu survives the vote, his government can press ahead with the difficult task of trying to get next year’s budget passed, which includes huge spending cuts and tax measures.<\/p>\n
A defeat would likely trigger the dissolution of parliament and fresh elections, as it is considered unlikely that Macron would again appoint a new prime minister to form a government.<\/p>\n
Since the snap parliamentary election called by Macron in mid-2024, the National Assembly has been split into several political blocs, none of which commands a governing majority or can form a stable coalition. Lecornu’s Cabinet is already the fourth government since that vote.<\/p>\n
The country\u2019s high public debt has underscored the need for cross-party agreement on spending cuts, but deep party divisions have soured the public mood and increased political instability.<\/p>\n
Lecornu’s two immediate predecessors – Michel Barnier and Fran\u00e7ois Bayrou – both lost confidence votes as they tried to push through unpopular austerity measures in the eurozone’s second-biggest economy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n