French PM Bayrou survives budget fight but finds himself boxed in – POLITICO

A Feb. 6 survey of 1,000 French voters by pollster Elabe showed 60 percent of respondents approved the decision not to topple the government, even though 62 percent opposed its spending plans. Some 76 percent believed the government wouldn’t be able to pass any major legislation until the next elections.

Indeed, any future attempts to legislate on hot-button issues could topple Bayrou given the limited support he enjoys.

The French PM is boxed in with little room for maneuver, but a brewing debate on immigration could force him to take a side on one of France’s most emotive political topics.

Bayrou effectively opened a debate on the subject last month when he said it felt as if parts of France were being “flooded” by immigrants. The comments, which echoed far-right rhetoric on migration, threatened to upend his efforts to get the Socialists to back his budget. The party said it was outraged and vowed to put forward its own no-confidence motion over the government’s refusal to uphold “republican values” once the budget was finalized.

The measure likely won’t pass without the support of the National Rally, which is unlikely. “We’re not signing this rag,” said a lawmaker close to the party’s former president, Marine Le Pen, who was granted anonymity to explain the party’s strategy after having discussed the matter during a group meeting.

Within his ranks, Bayrou appears to have opened the door for two of his most conservative Cabinet members, Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau and Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin, to try to scrap birthright citizenship, less than two years after tightening the screws on immigration.