A failed attempt to overthrow the government. Mercosur and the budget in the background of a political storm

The National Assembly, the lower house of France's parliament, on Wednesday rejected two motions of no confidence in the government of Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu. The reason for these subsequent attempts to overthrow the government, aimed mainly at President Emmanuel Macron, was, among others, EU-Mercosur agreement.

288 votes were needed to adopt the no-confidence motion. 256 deputies voted for the first motion (from the extreme left). Even fewer MPs – 142 – voted for the second one (of the extreme right).

Two separate applications were submitted by the far-left France Untamed (LFI) and the far-right National Rally (RN). Lecorn's minority government is constantly threatened by a vote of no confidence from those political parties that sharply criticize Macron's centrist political camp.

Before the vote, it was not expected that the proposals would be adopted, as the Socialist Party (PS), whose position was key, had previously announced that it would not support any of them. Right-wing Republicans (LR) also did not express the will to join the government's critics, since France, by Macron's decision, officially voted in Brussels against the agreement with Mercorus.

In submitting its application, LFI accused Macron of enabling “(France's) capitulation to the European Commission” regarding the agreement with the Mercosur bloc. The extreme right criticized the government's draft budget and demanded new parliamentary elections to end the political impasse. The head of the Supervisory Board, Jordan Bardella, said that Macron “today feigned opposition” regarding the agreement with Mercosur, and during the years of negotiations he “never defended French interests.”

The government can expect further attempts to force him to step down during debates on the budget bill. The Parliament should adopt the draft budget for 2026, but a compromise has not been reached yet. The government has the opportunity to push through the budget by referring to Article 49.3 of the constitution, which allows the adoption of laws without voting. In the case of budget bills, he would have to do this three times, and the opposition may respond each time with motions of no confidence.

From Paris Anna Wróbel (PAP)

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