French Socialist Party raises threat of backing no-confidence vote against government

Debate following French PM Bayrou's general policy speech in front of the parliament in Paris

Member of parliament Boris Vallaud, president of the Socialistes et apparentes (members of Socialist Party - SOC) parliamentary group, Olivier Faure, member of parliament and First Secretary of the French Socialist Party, MP Jerome Guedj attend a debate following the general policy speech of the French Prime Minister at the National Assembly in Paris, France, January 14, 2025. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier

Source: REUTERS

The French Socialist Party, whose support Francois Bayrou's minority government has been trying to secure for weeks, on Tuesday raised the threat of backing a no-confidence vote against the government later this week.

The Socialists, who voted down previous budget proposals in December in conjunction with far-right lawmakers and thereby precipitated the fall of Michel Barnier's government, have made concessions on the 2023 pension reform a condition for support.

Earlier in the day, during a speech to Parliament, Bayrou opened the door to renegotiating the disputed pension reform but Faure said this was not good enough.

"We will back a no-confidence vote, unless we get a clear response to our demands," Faure told the TF1 evening news bulletin on Tuesday.

This article was produced by Reuters news agency. It has not been edited by Global South World.

By Reuters