▲ A pharmacy sign near the Champs-Élysées in Paris, France, displays a temperature of 41°C (106°F).
A no-confidence motion against the French government, filed by the opposition party over allegations of inadequate heatwave countermeasures, has been rejected by the National Assembly.
The French National Assembly held a vote on the no-confidence motion, which was introduced by the left-wing Green Party last week, on July 6 (local time). The motion was defeated with only 132 votes in favor.
For a no-confidence motion to pass, it requires the support of a majority of the National Assembly's 577 members, which is 289 votes.
The Green Party filed the motion to criticize the government's lack of preparation for the heatwave and the absence of climate response policies, following reports that more than 1,300 excess deaths occurred during a heatwave that lasted for over ten days last month.
Prior to the vote, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu took the podium at the National Assembly, arguing that the lawmakers who signed the motion, including those from the Green Party, were "politically exploiting the victims of the heatwave." He specifically claimed that the Green Party was inflating the number of heatwave-related deaths to criticize the government.
The motion had little chance of passing from the start, as the far-right National Rally (RN), another pillar of the opposition, had already expressed its opposition.
Lawmakers from the Socialist Party, a moderate left-wing party like the Green Party, also stated in a release that while they "share the anger over President Emmanuel Macron's poor response to climate change," the French people "expect solutions rather than falling into a political crisis over this issue," and announced they would abstain from the vote.
France, which suffered from an intense heatwave in mid-to-late June, is facing continued heatwave alerts this week.
According to Météo-France, orange heatwave alerts were issued for 16 departments out of the 96 in mainland France on July 6, primarily in the southern and western regions. On July 7, 45 additional regions will be included, bringing the total number of areas under the influence of the heatwave to 61.
Daytime highs in these regions are forecast to reach 35–38°C (95–100°F), with temperatures in some southwestern areas expected to soar as high as 41°C (106°F).
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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