愛污传媒

Skip to main content

France PM survives no-confidence vote in parliament

Share
PARIS -

French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne on Monday comfortably survived a motion of no-confidence brought against her by a broad alliance of left-wing opponents.

An official vote count showed 146 lawmakers voted in support of the motion. The motion required an absolute majority of 289 votes to precipitate the government's fall.

While the outcome was in little doubt, it was meant as a show of intent by the Nupes alliance -- the largest bloc in opposition to Emmanuel Macron's centrist 'Ensemble!' grouping -- to make the president's life difficult in parliament.

But as the Nupes alliance is made up of 151 MPs, it meant that five of them chose not to vote the motion of no-confidence, something that could be interpreted as a positive sign by Borne and her government.

"We should be debating the issues the French are facing, this non-confidence vote is unfair," the prime minister told the parliament just before the vote.

"This non-confidence vote is just political tactics (...)Let's switch together to a culture of compromise," she added.

After enjoying a comfortable majority in the lower house during his first mandate, newly re-elected Macron lost his absolute majority in parliament in June's legislative elections and can no longer count on the chamber to rubber stamp his reform agenda.

Instead Macron and his government are faced with negotiating legislation on a bill-by-bill basis, taking a degree of control of the process out of his hands.

The no-confidence motion had been expected to fail after the conservative Les Republicains party and Marine Le Pen's far-right Rassemblement National said they would abstain.

"You are, Mrs Borne, a democratic anomaly (...) you have no legitimacy, nor politic neither parliamentarian," said Mathilde Panot, head of The France Unbowed group, the main component of the Nupes alliance, in the Assembly.

"Those who won't vote this no-confidence motion will be supporters of your policies," she added before the vote.

Now that the no-confidence motion is out the way, the parliament will soon start discussing the 20 billion euro (US$20.13 billion) inflation-relief package unveiled last week by the government.

Reporting by Benoit Van Overstraeten and Richard Lough; Editing by Jonathan Oatis

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

BREAKING

BREAKING

Montreal police say four teenagers suffered stab wounds after an altercation near John F. Kennedy High School in the city's Villeray鈥擲aint-Michel鈥擯arc-Extension borough on Thursday.

The Maritime Sikh Society says the body of a young employee who died at a Walmart in Halifax last weekend was found by her mother.

Four people are dead and another is in hospital after a Tesla driving through downtown Toronto at a high rate of speed crashed into a guardrail and struck a concrete pillar on Lake Shore Boulevard.

It's a dream for many Canadians, trying to save up enough money for a down payment on their very first home. That was also the dream for the Esmeralda family, a family of five with two dogs who currently live in a Scarborough apartment building.

The RCMP is warning residents in northeast Saskatchewan to seek shelter and avoid picking up hitchhikers as police search for a group of armed and dangerous suspects.

Local Spotlight

A new resident at a Manitoba animal rescue has waddled her way into people's hearts.

Hundreds of people ran to the music of German composer and pianist Beethoven Wednesday night in a unique race in Halifax.

He is a familiar face to residents of a neighbourhood just west of Roncesvalles Avenue.

A meteor lit up our region's sky last night 鈥 with a large fireball shooting across the horizon over Lake Erie at around 7:00 p.m.

Residents of Ottawa's Rideauview neighbourhood say an aggressive wild turkey has become a problem.

A man who lost his life while trying to rescue people from floodwaters, and a 13-year-old boy who saved his family from a dog attack, are among the Nova Scotians who received a medal for bravery Tuesday.

A newly minted Winnipegger is hoping a world record attempt will help bring awareness for the need for more pump track facilities in the city.

A Springfield, Ont. man is being hailed a 'hero' after running into his burning home to save his two infant children.

Hortense Anglin was the oldest graduate to make her way across the platform at York University's Fall Convocation ceremony this week. At the age of 87, she graduated with an Honours degree in Religious Studies.