Both the far-right National Rally and center-left Socialist Party declined to back a no-confidence vote in new French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou. But France's parliament remains bitterly divided.

French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou passed the first test of his new minority government on Thursday as he survived a vote of no-confidence called by the hard left after the centre-left Socialist Party did not back the motion.

Only 131 lawmakers voted for motion, far from 289 votes required to adopt it, Socialist Party criticized for not backing motion - Anadolu Ajansı

PARIS (Reuters) - The French centre-left Socialist party will not back a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Francois Bayrou's government, Le Figaro reported on Thursday, citing an intra-party meeting.

PARIS - French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou was set to survive on Thursday a vote of no-confidence called by the hard left after the centre-left Socialist Party said it would not back the motion. Read more at straitstimes.

France's government faces a another critical challenge as lawmakers debate a censure motion that will shed light on the Socialist Party's stance among the alliances within a fragmented French parliament.

The French Socialist Party, whose support Francois Bayrou's minority government has been trying to secure for weeks, on Tuesday raised the threat of backing a no-confidence vote against the government later this week.

The challenge in the Assemblée Nationale came after François Bayrou's statement this week on his government policy agenda. The no-confidence motion, brought by the leftist opposition, failed to gain support from the far right.

Green and Communist parties have put forward a no-confidence motion against Bayrou's minority government. The political instability in France, which had four prime ministers last year, has rattled markets.