Overview

• The Socialist Party filed its eighth motion of censure on July 1 after negotiations on raising the retirement age collapsed
• The motion secured only 189 votes in favor versus the 289 needed when the Rassemblement national abstained
• Prime Minister François Bayrou asserted that the duty of the general interest outweighed all threats of censure
• Bayrou is set to present mid-July orientations for the 2026 budget targeting €40 billion in public spending savings
• His minority government remains exposed to new censure attempts in autumn and a dissolution window reopening on July 8