France’s prime minister survived a no-confidence vote by parliament on Wednesday after he invoked special constitutional powers to force through the country’s 2025 budget.
Only 128 lawmakers voted in favor of the no-confidence motion against Francois Bayrou, falling short of the 289 votes required to pass.
Far-left lawmakers called for the measure after Bayrou invoked Article 49.3, which grants the minority government special constitutional powers to pass legislation without a parliamentary vote.
The no-confidence motion appeared to have no chance of succeeding after the Socialists and the far-right National Rally lawmakers announced they would not support it.
Under France’s Constitution, the no-confidence motion’s failure meant that the 2025 budget automatically became law.
The French political scene has been challenging since President Emmanuel Macron called snap elections last year, a move that resulted in no party having a majority in parliament.
Some information for this story came from Reuters and The Associated Press.
