French PM survives another no-confidence vote

PARIS - French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou survived another no-confidence vote on Monday, initiated by the hard-left party La France Insoumise (LFI).

Lacking support from its ally, the Socialist Party (PS), or the far-right National Rally (RN), the motion received only 115 votes - far below the 289 needed to remove Bayrou, according to National Assembly Speaker Yael Braun-Pivet.

On Feb 5, after surviving two no-confidence votes, Bayrou once again invoked his special constitutional power to push through the second part of the Social Security financing bill. In response, LFI filed the latest no-confidence motion, which was put to a vote on Monday.

Shortly after the vote's failure, Bayrou again invoked Article 49.3 of the French Constitution to bypass parliament and force through the "spending" section of the Social Security financing bill for 2025.

According to Le Figaro, the bill includes a 2.6 percent increase in health spending, bringing the total to 264.2 billion euros ($272 billion).

Bayrou was appointed prime minister by French President Emmanuel Macron on Dec 13 after Michel Barnier was ousted in a no-confidence vote.