PARIS (Reuters) – The head of France’s lower house of parliament on Thursday warned of major risks if a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Francois Bayrou’s government succeeded, as it would hit areas such as the budget.
Politicians from the far-left France Unbowed (LFI), Green and Communist parties have put forward a no-confidence motion against Bayrou’s minority government. The political instability in France, which had four prime ministers last year, has rattled markets.
Bayrou is likely to survive the vote for now, but the loss of support from the centre-left Socialist Party, especially after concessions on education and pension reform, would be a major blow.
“We have the budget, that is priority number one,” parliament head Yael Braun-Pivet told TF1 TV.
“Today, we must all come together and get over our differences, to get the country moving forward and to be able to respond to matters of great importance,” she added.
Socialist leader Olivier Faure has said Bayrou’s pledge to re-open talks on pension reform was not enough, saying the party would back the no-confidence vote absent a clear response to their demands.
Braun-Pivet said that if the no-confidence motion went through, France would also be unable to push through legislation on farming and a special law on Mayotte, France’s overseas territory that was battered by a cyclone last month.
The no-confidence vote will be debated later on Thursday afternoon.
(Reporting by Makini Brice; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)
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