French PM Attal survives first vote of no confidence

France’s newly appointed prime minister Gabriel Attal unsurprisingly survived his first vote of no confidence on Monday (5 February), filed by all left-wing parties, with only 124 votes out of the required 289 – as both the far-right and conservatives announced ahead of time they would not support the motion.

The vote of no-confidence was filed by the Greens, the Communists, the far-left La France Insoumise (LFI) and the Socialists (PS) just minutes before Attal’s first major policy speech last Tuesday (30 January), in which he set out his government’s priorities for the years to come.

This is Attal’s first vote of no-confidence – and the 32nd since the 2022 legislative elections, which left pro-Macron lawmakers short of an absolute majority by 40-odd seats.

None have succeeded, however. Parties from the far-left and the far-right, who held the pen for most of the no-confidence votes filed, almost always refused to vote for each other’s motions.

The conservative Les Républicains (LR) party, stuck in an ideological bind between the far-right and the more liberal pro-Macron side, have often stayed clear of voting altogether, hoping to present themselves as the only ‘constructive’ opposition party.

Predictably, both the RN and the LR confirmed they would not support the motion this time around – meaning that with 124 votes from the left, it fell considerably short of the absolute majority of 289 votes needed for the motion to be adopted, and the government to fall.

The vote, therefore, was more a political exercise than a serious attempt to unseat Attal’s government. In calling the motion, the left is seeking to position itself as the most credible opposition group – just months ahead of an EU election that’s seeing the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) topping the polls, and the left struggling to make headway.

The left-wing Nupes coalition has been ridden with internal conflicts since its creation days before the 2022 French legislative elections. Its parties have continuously struggled to see eye to eye on critical policy questions, including on the role of the EU, NATO and more generally foreign affairs – and have so far refused to run together on an EU ticket.

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“Social brutality”

“We must censor you,” LFI lawmaker Manuel Bompard said when laying out the case for a motion of no confidence on Monday, citing a long list of government policy decisions, from the economy to public order to birth control policy that he claims amount to “social brutality”.

Moreover, Bompard pointed the finger at the prime minister for “supporting unfair competition [for farmers], the worst food products from the rest of the world are invading our markets but you continue to sacrifice our food sovereignty,” and deplored the imbroglio on the EU-Mercosur trade deal.

In trying to respond to farmers’ protests, Emmanuel Macron had vowed to put an end to a trade deal between the EU and the Mercosur nations – Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay – claiming it would otherwise bring unfair competition on food imports to the EU.

Last week, Emmanuel Macron said negotiations with South American partners were dead, though these claims were quickly denied by the European Commission.“

“You’re no more than partisans of continuous censorship,” Attal responded, accusing the left of refusing to engage in meaningful debate and “blocking” the passage of legislative work.

The government had felt the heat after an ad hoc coalition had been struck in late December – before Attal was appointed as prime minister – to secure the passage of France’s controversial immigration bill, the content of which ultimately veered far-right to secure LR and RN votes. Its most radical provisions were shot down by the Constitutional Council earlier this month.

The stance of the far-left is one of “conservatism”, he claimed, which dents France’s credibility on the EU stage. “Every time you attack Europe, you take us back 75 years to a time of uncertainty for our continent.”

Attal is aiming to roll out a significant set of reforms intended to “unlock [entrepreneurship], break the low-wage trap [désmicardiser] and de-bureaucratise”.

“I am ready to work with every single one of you [to] find an agreement on a text-by-text basis,” the prime minister added.

“We are ready to break partisan lines,” Attal said. “This legislature is not one of inertia.”

[Edited by Nathalie Weatherald]