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French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu survived two no-confidence votes, buoyed by Socialist backing after he pledged to suspend President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reform until after the 2027 election. Motions from France Unbowed and the National Rally drew 271 and 144 votes, short of the 289 needed to fell his days-old government. Bond markets remained steady after the votes, but the result underscored the administration’s fragility midway through Macron’s final term. Lecornu now faces arduous negotiations on a slimmed-down 2026 budget, as Socialists seek a billionaires’ tax and RN’s Jordan Bardella decries “horse-trading.”

Prepared by Lauren Mitchell and reviewed by editorial team.