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.

Only 131 lawmakers voted for motion, far from 289 votes required to adopt it, Socialist Party criticized for not backing motion - Anadolu Ajansı

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.

France's centre-left Socialist party will not back a no-confidence vote against Prime Minister Francois Bayrou on Thursday, its leader said, which will enable Bayrou's minority government to live to fight another day.

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.

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.

The prospects of French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou's minority government surviving in the long term appeared slimmer after the Socialist Party raised the threat of backing a no-confidence vote on Thursday.

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