France: the Lecornu II government narrowly escapes censure
The French government led by Sébastien Lecornu survived two motions of no confidence filed in the National Assembly on Thursday, October 16, 2025, by La France insoumise (LFI) and the Rassemblement national (RN).
Despite a tense political atmosphere, the executive scraped through by a margin of 18 votes, thereby avoiding a premature collapse. The motion put forward by LFI, considered the most threatening, received 271 votes—18 fewer than the 289 required to topple the government.
Backed by deputies from the radical left, the communists, the Greens and the far right, it nevertheless suffered from several internal defections. Five Green and communist deputies did not take part in the vote, weakening the united front.
Seven Socialist deputies defied their party’s line by voting for the no-confidence motion, while one Les Républicains (LR) deputy and one from the Liot group did the same. But the bulk of the LR group and the Socialist majority chose to preserve government stability, giving Lecornu a political reprieve.
The narrow rejection of the motion immediately sparked a political storm. Jordan Bardella, president of the RN, lambasted on X “a deal-making majority”, accusing it of “saving its seats at the expense of the national interest.”
On the left, Mathilde Panot, LFI’s leader, denounced the Socialist Party’s “historic responsibility” for the failure of the vote, calling for a “popular resistance” against the upcoming budget proposal.
As for the motion filed by the RN, it received only 144 votes, confirming the failure of the double parliamentary assault against the Lecornu II government, which emerges weakened but remains in office.
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