France: no-confidence vote against Barnier fails
France's new government under Prime Minister Michel Barnier has survived its first vote of no confidence. The left-wing New Popular Front (NFP) alliance comprising the leftist LFI, Socialists, Greens and Communists only managed to muster 197 of the 289 votes needed to pass their motion. The alliance criticised the centre-right government for not representing the will of the electorate. The national press takes a look behind the scenes.
Weary of the whole spectacle
The French are weary of the constant back and forth, Le Figaro fumes:
“A political spectacle from which the citizens, whether exasperated or saddened, are increasingly turning away. ... After three intense and contradictory votes, the hopes and disappointments of the French have been exhausted. None of the proposals for a new government fully satisfies them. So a number of them are simply saying: 'Let's leave it to the new prime minister!' He has inherited a disastrous financial and security situation, the result of an abstruse political and institutional mess, but there he is. Without any real career plan (for now), and without much of a perspective except to get through one day at a time and hope that the government doesn't collapse.”
Obvious tactics
La Croix explains why the Rassemblement National (RN) abstained rather than voting against Barnier's government:
“On the surface, of course, the aim is to avoid provoking a government crisis. And the party, which is embroiled in a lawsuit over the alleged fictitious employment of parliamentary assistants to MEPs, is at pains to explain that it has no wish to destabilise the Fifth Republic. ... But behind the scenes, everyone knows that the RN needs time to renew its leadership and prepare for the next elections. Ultimately, the effect is the same: those who call themselves 'France's leading opposition party' are in fact supporting the government they claim to be combating.”