French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou passed the first test of his new minority government on Thursday as he survived a vote of no-confidence called by the hard left after the centre-left Socialist Party did not back the motion.

The French socialists announced today that they will not support the vote of no confidence against the government of centrist Prime Minister François Bayrou, due to some compromises reached in recent days and the possibility that the extreme right comes to power.

The decision of the Socialists means that Bayrou is safe for now, but remains in a precarious position with budget talks set to open. The far-right National Rally did not vote for Thursday’s no-confidence motion to give the prime minister a chance to govern, but has made no such assurances regarding the future.

A total of 131 lawmakers voted in favour of the motion - well short of the 288 votes needed for it to pass. Read more at straitstimes.com.

There should be “no totems or taboos” as new prime minister fights to reform pensions — and keep his job.

PARIS (Reuters) - The French centre-left Socialist party will not back a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Francois Bayrou's government, Le Figaro reported on Thursday, citing an intra-party meeting.

French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou on Thursday survived his first vote of no confidence in parliament after the motion, brought by the leftist opposition, failed to gain traction on the far right