In France the centrist government has survived two votes of no confidence. In the two votes, 256 and 142 out of 577 members of the French National Assembly withdrew confidence in the minority government. 288 votes would have been necessary.
The right-wing nationalist one National Rally and the left-wing party La France Insoumise (LFI) had each requested a vote against the government of Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu due to dissatisfaction with the Mercosur trade agreement. They also strongly criticized President Emmanuel Macron, whose office was not affected by the votes.
The European Union’s planned free trade agreement with the four Mercosur states Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay had been negotiated since 1999. The new free trade zone With more than 700 million inhabitants, according to the EU Commission, it would be the largest of its kind in the world. At a meeting of representatives of the 27 EU countries last week despite the French dissenting vote achieved sufficient majority to complete the deal. The signing is scheduled to take place on Saturday in Paraguay.
The government already survived votes of no confidence in October
French government officials had repeatedly criticized the agreement. Despite some concessions, Macron ultimately announced that he would vote against the deal. The La France Insoumise party is now accusing Macron and the government of not having rebelled strongly enough against the agreement. The right-wing nationalists criticize that did not adequately represent France’s interests had been.
Shortly after the centrist government took office in October, it had already survived two votes of no confidence that the LFI and the right-wing nationalists had requested. At that time, however, the vote was closer.
