Embattled French PM Sebastien Lecornu survives no-confidence vote

French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu survived the latest no confidence vote (Thibault Camus/AP)

French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu survived a vote of no-confidence on Thursday that could have toppled his fragile new government and plunged France deeper into political chaos.

The National Assembly vote clears the way for the embattled Mr Lecornu to pursue what could be an even greater challenge: getting a 2026 budget for the European Union’s second-largest economy through Parliament’s powerful but bitterly divided lower house before the end of the year.