The ongoing political saga in France, triggered by President Emmanuel Macron’s call for early elections in 2024, shows no signs of fading away, with the latest twist coming from the Socialist Party (Parti Socialiste, PS). This week, the PS chose not to censure Macron’s newly appointed Prime Minister, François Bayrou, in exchange for a set of budget-related concessions. This decision led the majority of PS parliamentarians to vote against a no-confidence motion proposed by the other parties in the New Popular Front (Nouveau Front Populaire, NFP), despite Bayrou’s alignment with the very neoliberal policies the PS opposed during the election campaign.
Defending their decision, PS leaders like Olivier Faure cited progress achieved during recent negotiations. These included scaled-back cuts to healthcare and measures aimed at easing the cost-of-living crisis, particularly through efforts to mitigate rising energy costs. Faure argued that the PS acted responsibly by securing what Bayrou offered, stating that the role of the left opposition should not be to “always limit ourselves to setting a date for the next election, but rather to snatch, day after day, all possible victories.”
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One of these so-called victories is the revisitation of the controversial pension reform, which raised the retirement age in France to 64 and sparked mass public opposition. However, the re-opening of dialogue with trade unions and employers comes with significant caveats, which make real change improbable—much like the other concessions the PS cited as reasons for their tacit support of the new administration, MP Manuel Bompard pointed out.
According to Bompard and other members of France Unbowed (La France Insoumise, LFI), these concessions are merely token adjustments that somewhat reduce the scope of planned cuts without addressing the underlying neoliberal logic. LFI leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon also challenged the rationale behind the PS’s decision, arguing that the only way to truly meet the people’s needs is by creating a budget where those who “take everything contribute.”
Similarly, leaders of the Communist Party, another member of the NFP, criticized Bayrou’s budget as “a budget that doesn’t touch capital,” and, by doing so, expressed clear skepticism about the PS’s decision to support it.
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This decision not only carries implications for the continuation of austerity policies rejected by the French people but also raises questions about the future of the NFP. Over recent months, the coalition has successfully resisted Macron’s attempts to fracture its unity, standing as the only significant obstacle to his liberal agenda and counterforce to the growing strength of the far-right in France. While the PS maintains it remains in opposition to the government and part of the NFP despite its position on the no-confidence vote, other coalition parties have signaled that the repercussions could be more serious, leaving the question of how the left will organize against Macron in the coming months.