Sébastien Lecornu Survives Mercosur Censure Votes as LR Keeps Budget Leverage

Overview

• The National Assembly rejected no-confidence motions from LFI and RN over the EU–Mercosur agreement, keeping the prime minister in office.
• The tallies fell short of the 288 needed, with 142 votes for the RN motion and 256 for LFI's.
• Les Républicains abstained under Bruno Retailleau's guidance, balancing fears of dissolution with leverage after Emmanuel Macron signaled opposition to the deal.
• The Socialist group declined to participate, further limiting support for the attempts to topple the government.
• LR warned it could push a budget-linked censure if its demands are not met, as the government criticized the timing during budget debates and did not rule out tools such as 49.3.