Amaravati, October 16, 2025:

French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu navigated a turbulent no-confidence vote in the National Assembly on Thursday, securing survival for his unsteady government and averting snap elections that could have deepened the country's political turmoil. The hard-left France Unbowed motion garnered 271 votes, falling 18 short of the 289 needed to pass, while the far-right National Rally's challenge, backed by Marine Le Pen and allies, appeared doomed without left-wing crossover support.

Lecornu's tactical offer to pause the 2023 pension overhaul, which phased the retirement age from 62 to 64, prompted key abstentions and bought breathing room to tackle the 2026 budget amid soaring deficits and debt. The outcome, in a 577-seat chamber rife with divisions, spares President Emmanuel Macron an immediate dissolution and lets Lecornu push tax hikes and cuts without invoking constitutional overrides that fueled past protests. Yet, with opposition poised to regroup over fiscal demands, the government's fragility lingers in Europe's second-biggest economy.