French Gov't Survives No-Confidence Vote by Halting Reform

The new government of French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has survived a political crisis, defeating two no-confidence motions against it in parliament. This fragile victory was achieved at the cost of a major concession: Lecornu was forced to freeze President Emmanuel Macron's most symbolic and controversial reform—the raising of the retirement age.

The real threat to the government was the no-confidence vote initiated by the radical left "La France Insoumise" party, which was joined by other opposition forces, including Marine Le Pen's far-right "National Rally." 289 votes were needed to oust the government, but the opposition managed to gather only 271, falling short by just 18. Another initiative presented by Le Pen's party failed by a larger margin.

The key to the government's survival was Lecornu's concession to the Socialists. Two days earlier, he announced in parliament that he was suspending the reform to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 until the 2027 presidential elections. This was enough for the majority of Socialists not to support the no-confidence vote, which angered their radical left allies.

Now, Lecornu faces his main challenge: getting the 2026 state budget through parliament. Since no party has an absolute majority, the prime minister will be forced to form temporary alliances with various political forces for each decision. Balancing the budget will require cuts in social spending, which will only increase dissatisfaction with him.

French society is also polarized. Polls show that the majority of people (56%) strive for stability and are against the government's resignation, and 58% welcome the suspension of the pension reform. However, at the same time, 62% of respondents are against Lecornu's reappointment.