French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne on Monday survived her first no-confidence vote in parliament, which had been tabled by the hard-left opposition. She has now called for ministers to 'get back to work', with managing the new heatwave at the top of her agenda.
The motion, which would have needed 289 votes to pass, was backed by just 146 of the National Assembly's 577 deputies after close to three hours of debate.
The France Unbowed (LFI) party had tabled the motion against Borne, who heads a minority government, but she appeared out of danger when other opposition parties ruled out backing the initiative even before the vote.
The leftist alliance, known as NUPES, made up of LFI, Socialists, Communists and Greens did not reunite its possible 151 votes. Six Socialist MPs did not vote, including Valérie Rabault, former president of the socialist group.
The only vote from outside the alliance came from sovereignist Nicolas Dupont-Aignan.
"Rejecting this vote of no confidence means respecting what French people voted for," Borne told lawmakers. "It means refusing instability and accepting to judge the government on its actions and facts".
'Futile dialogue, posturing'
French people "have had enough of these futile dialogues and posturing" and have already "sent a clear message" through the elections, Borne added.
During the debate, the prime minister accused LFI of diverting parliamentary time away from important topics.
"Instead, we are debating a no-confidence vote that is based on my alleged intentions, and that stands in the way of parliament's work and therefore of the wishes of the French people," she said ahead of the vote.
Borne was appointed by President Emmanuel Macron in May, a month before parliamentary elections in which the ruling centrist party lost its majority.
"We will never accept that someone holds power in this country with their only legitimacy being that they were named by the president," senior LFI lawmaker Alexis Corbiere told the Public Senat channel on Monday.
"This is the moment of truth," added the party's parliamentary group's leader, Mathilde Panot.
The point of the vote was "political clarification" as those who did not vote in favour would be identified as "favouring government policies," she added.
Republican support crucial
With just 250 MPs, Borne has made clear she intends to rely on the votes of opposition parties to pass legislation, with the right-wing Republicans party (LR) seen as crucial to her future.
Support from the 62 Republicans MPs would be enough for the government to pass laws during the lifetime of this parliament.
But this is far from being a done deal, as opposition parties promise to keep the government in check, especially when it comes to discussing explosive topics such as pension fund reforms.
"Paralysing France and its institutions, like this motion proposes to do, is not what the French are expecting of us; they have given us a mandate to act," deputy LR MP Michèle Tabarot said on Monday during the debate.
Even if the right-wing party is "not in defiance of the government at this point in time", it doesn’t mean it has confidence either, she said.
The far-right National Rally (RN) represents the biggest counterweight in terms of numbers with 89 seats, its biggest ever representation. RN MP Alexandre Loubet agreed that while it was not the moment for "underhanded political manoeuvres" it was imperative to "serve the French people" by assuring a robust opposition.
Heat save vigilance
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister has called on all of her ministers to ready themselves for the heatwave which has begun in France and is expected to last at least ten days.
"The heat has an immediate effect on the health of the population, elderly people in particular. In this context, everyone needs to be on their guard," Borne’s office said in a statement, putting into place the heatwave alert plan.
The national weather bureau has forecast peaks at 39°C as of Tuesday in the south of the country.
The government heatwave plan takes into consideration working conditions for construction companies, outdoor and transport workers as well as in some sporting and cultural sectors.
