France’s minority government survives no-confidence vote

MPs wave their voting cards (Thibault Camus/AP)

France’s minority government survived a no-confidence vote on Tuesday, two weeks after taking office, getting over the first hurdle placed by left-wing MPs to bring down new conservative Prime Minister Michel Barnier.

The vote was a key test for Barnier, whose Cabinet is forced to rely on the right’s goodwill to be able to stay in power.