Early bird: The French government survived the first vote. Fiala met with Fico in Brussels, who denied it.
The French government survived a vote of no confidence on Wednesday and the country's budget for 2025 was eventually approved, alleviating some shocks in one of the world's largest economies that worried investors and damaged twenty eurozone countries. The government does not have a majority in Parliament, and Prime Minister François Bayrou used special constitutional powers to approve the budget proposal without a vote by legislators, which triggered a vote of no confidence.
The proposal was approved by only 128 legislators, which falls short of 289 votes, namely half the seats in the National Assembly, necessary for its adoption. It was rejected by socialists and legislators of the far-right National Assembly. According to the French constitution, the failure of the budget proposal for 2025 automatically becomes a law.
French politics has been in chaos since the early elections last year, which were announced by President Emmanuel Macron and in which no party won a parliamentary majority.
