Paris, 28 January 2026 (dpa/MIA) - France's minority government on Tuesday survived two more no-confidence votes in the National Assembly, which were triggered by a budget dispute.

Of the 577 lawmakers, 267 voted against supporting the centrist Cabinet of Sébastien Lecornu in the first vote and 140 in the second. The opposition needed 289 votes for the measure to pass.

Lecornu already had to face two no-confidence votes on three occasions, most recently last week.

The effort to oust Lecornu was not expected to pass, as he had secured the support of the Socialists by making concessions.

One of the votes had been requested by Marine Le Pen's right-wing National Rally and the other by the Left, the Greens and the Communists.

The effort to oust Lecornu was a reaction to his having pushed the spending part of this year's budget through the chamber without a final vote.

Budget not yet finally approved

After lengthy talks failed to produce a compromise on the budget, Lecornu decided to push the budget through parliament using a special article of the constitution.

The budget, however, has not yet received final approval. It now goes to the second chamber, the Senate, where Lecornu will then have to resort to the same move to get the text through the National Assembly in its final form. More no-confidence votes are therefore likely.

The budget is intended to reduce the deficit of heavily indebted France to 5%. The end of the budget deliberations is likely to bring relief for businesses and EU partners.

Lecornu's predecessors François Bayrou and Michel Barnier were ousted amid parliamentary disputes over budget issues.

Photo: EPA