FRANCE: PS Will Not Vote For Bayrou Gov't Censure-Le Figaro
Jan-16 12:39
Le Figaro reports that the centre-left Socialist Party (PS) will not vote for the censure of PM Francois Bayrou's minority gov't in the National Assembly later today. The censure motion put forward by the far-left La France Insoumise (LFI) and backed by deputies from the environmentalist Social and Ecologist and communist Democratic and Republican Left groups will be debated from 1500CET with a vote expected at around 1730CET (1130ET, 1630GMT).
- The censure motion was already set to fail, given that the far-right Rassemblement National (National Rally, RN) has indicated that it would not offer its backing to Bayrou's ouster. The governing groups (the pro-Macron centrist Ensemble and conservative Republican Right) outweigh the leftist New Popular Front (NFP).
- Nevertheless, the PS' decision marks a notable point in the political timeline stretching since the 2024 legislative elections that ushered in the recent gov't paralysis. Since the election, the PS has voted alongside the rest of the groups in the NFP, which the PS ran in the election as part of.
- However, by breaking with the more leftist alliances within the NFP it risks a backlash, most notably from LFI and its firebrand figurehead Jean-Luc Melenchon.
- The PS abstaining on censure could open up the prospect of the party eventually abstaining on or backing the state and social security budgets, although it should be noted the difficulty Bayrou faces in gaining support from the PS and Republican Right on issues such as pension reform, tax and gov't spending cuts.
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