The executive committee of France's Parti Socialiste (PS) decided on Monday, February 3, against backing a no-confidence motion against François Bayrou over his government's budget, party sources confirmed to Le Monde, giving the prime minister a much-needed boost.
Bayrou had said he would trigger Article 49.3 of the Constitution to force through the budget without a vote, a move that would prompt the motion of no confidence from some left-wing parties. He had previously vowed not to use Article 49.3 unless there was a "total deadlock on the budget."
"Now we must move towards adoption without delay. A country like ours cannot remain without a budget," Bayrou told La Tribune Dimanche. "The only way is to engage the government's responsibility. This will be done this Monday," he said in reference to Article 49.3.
Bayrou, a veteran centrist named by President Emmanuel Macron on December 13 to end months of political crisis following last summer's inconclusive legislative elections, is nowhere near having a parliamentary majority. In December, the far-right Rassemblement National party teamed up with the left-wing bloc to topple the government of Bayrou's predecessor Michel Barnier after he invoked the same article of the Constitution to force through the social security budget.
Bayrou's office confirmed he planned to resort to the tactic twice on Monday, to force through the budget as well as the social security budget. The use of this tactic, while convenient for a minority government, means the opposition has the right to put forward a no-confidence motion to bring the prime minister and his government down.
The radical left party La France Insoumise (LFI), backed by the Communists and the Greens, had made it clear that it would put forward such a motion for a vote. The new no-confidence vote should take place on Wednesday.
New legislative elections cannot take place until at least one year after the previous polls, so the toppling of Bayrou's government would place Macron under intense pressure and plunge France into uncharted political waters. Bayrou is Macron's sixth prime minister since taking office in 2017. The president has faced calls to step down but has repeatedly insisted he will serve out his term in full.
The prime minister had managed to convince the Socialists not to back a no-confidence motion against him earlier this year in a major victory. But last week the Socialists broke off talks with Bayrou's government after he referred to an immigrant "submersion" of France, borrowing from terminology previously used by the far right.
Boris Vallaud, head of the Socialists' parliamentary group, told the Ouest France newspaper's Sunday edition that they "know that this country needs a budget and we hear the concerns, the fears of businesses, communities or associations."
The RN has said it will make its position clear at the beginning of the week.