French PM to Face No-Confidence Motion in Parliament, AFP Says

(Bloomberg) -- French Prime Minister Michel Barnier will face his first no-confidence motion in parliament next week, a move brought by the leftist opposition that isn’t expected to garner enough support to topple his fragile government.

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The motion set for Tuesday and signed by 192 lawmakers from the New Popular Front says the makeup and policies of the government don’t reflect the results of the recent legislative elections, Agence-France Presse reported Friday, adding that Marine Le Pen’s opposition National Rally has said it won’t support it.

“The situation is sufficiently serious not to already be censuring the government,” National Rally lawmaker Laure Lavalette said Thursday on France 2 television, responding to members of the left-leaning alliance who were speaking on the same program. “We don’t want to add chaos, as you are doing.”

Barnier’s premiership is tenuous given his centrist coalition doesn’t have enough seats in the National Assembly to ward off a concerted opposition attempt to topple his government. He’s preparing to unveil a 2025 budget to cabinet and parliament on Oct. 10 for debate. The proposal will include around €60 billion ($65.8 billion) in spending cuts and tax hikes to claw back a widening deficit and try to bolster investor confidence in the country.

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