No party or coalition secured an absolute majority in the French National Assembly in the snap election held over the summer.
France’s two-week-old government led by Prime Minister Michel Barnier survived a no-confidence vote on Tuesday.
A total of 197 MPs voted in favour of this no-confidence motion, short of the 289 votes needed to achieve an absolute majority to topple the government.
The no-confidence motion was deposited by a group of 192 lawmakers of the left-wing New Popular Front (NFP) coalition composed of the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI), Socialists, Greens and Communists.
Despite securing the most seats in the National Assembly in France’s snap legislative elections held this summer, the left was not given a chance by French President Emmanuel Macron to form a minority government.
The far-right National Rally (RN), which has 125 MPs, has said it would abstain “for now” from voting against Barnier’s government.