PARIS, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- The French government led by Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu survived two no-confidence votes on Friday after deputies in the National Assembly rejected the motions.
The motions, filed separately on Tuesday by left-wing parliamentary groups including La France Insoumise, the Democratic and Republican Left group (GDR) and the Ecologists, as well as by the far-right National Rally and its ally, the Union of the Right for the Republic (UDR), accused the government of abusing constitutional powers to force the state budget through parliament.
The motion put forward by the left-wing deputies garnered 269 votes, falling 19 votes short of the 288 required for adoption, according to the National Assembly. The second motion, tabled by the right-wing, was also rejected, receiving 142 votes, well below the threshold needed to bring down the government.
Lecornu announced Monday that he would resort to Article 49.3 of the Constitution, which allows legislation to be adopted without a parliamentary vote, to break the 2026 state budget deadlock.
According to France's BFM TV, Article 49.3 effectively allows the opposition to table a motion of censure, which allows them to reject the adoption of the text passed using this constitutional provision and to bring down the government.
The state budget comprises two main components: revenues and expenditures. Lecornu has already invoked Article 49.3 Tuesday in the National Assembly on the revenue side of the budget bill.
With the no-confidence votes out of the way on Friday, the government can now resort to Article 49.3 a second time to adopt the expenditure side of the budget.
The bill would then move to the Senate before returning to the National Assembly for a third and final use of Article 49.3. The subsequent two uses are also expected to be followed by no-confidence motions.
Lecornu's minority government has little room for manoeuvre in France's fractious parliament, where budget disputes have already ousted his two predecessors over cost-cutting measures in a little over a year. ■
