Attempts to censure François Bayrou in the French parliament failed on Thursday, June 26th, despite widespread unease with the PM’s pensions policy.
When talks on pension reform ended without agreement, Socialist MPs announced a motion of censure against the French government. Rassemblement National declared that it would not support the motion, but nevertheless the initiative has added to pressure on President Emmanuel Macron’s already weakened government.
Some respite for Bayrou came after the Socialists failed in their no-confidence vote against him, in circumstances similar to an earlier such flop budget vote in February this year. Having defied the motion of censure, or at least seen it fail to secure support, the veteran politician has claimed success in the form of his earlier “conclave” meetings on pension reform with industry and trade union representatives saying, in effect ‘watch this space.’
However, the problem is that several months of such talks have, to date, failed to produce tangible results, which prompted the Socialists to move against him. France faces real difficulty bringing its budget deficit and national debt under control, with a soaring pensions bill just one part of the problem. The PM is not part of the solution: despite his political experience—i.e. because of his politics—‘eternal centrist’ François Bayrou looks unlikely to resolve anything any time soon.
