Macron's government faces no-confidence votes

French president may be forced to call snap elections if his prime minister is ousted.

- JOHN LEICESTER

FRENCH Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu faces two censure motions in Parliament on Thursday.

France could sink deeper into political crisis Thursday when the prime minister faces two attempts in Parliament to topple his fragile new government, which could leave President Emmanuel Macron with no palatable option other than calling snap legislative elections.

Legislators in the National Assembly, the powerful but deeply divided lower house, will vote on no-confidence motions filed by Macron's fiercest opponents — the hard-left France Unbowed party and Marine Le Pen of the far-right National Rally and her allies in Parliament.

If Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu survives, it could be close. Should the ally of Macron fall, the president has signaled through a government spokeswoman that he could dissolve the National Assembly rather than name a replacement for Lecornu. He resigned as prime minister last week only for Macron to reappoint him again four days later.

The outcome of legislative elections that would follow any National Assembly dissolution is uncertain. But Le Pen's party - already the largest in the National Assembly — believes that it's poised to make strong gains, possibly putting the National Rally in government for the first time should Macron take that route again, having tried it once before in June 2024.