PARIS: French Prime Minister Michel Barnier passed the first test of his new government on Tuesday, as a leftist no-confidence motion failed to garner enough votes to bring down his center-right administration.

President Emmanuel Macron tapped Barnier for the job of prime minister last month after a snap election led to a fractious hung parliament. Barnier`s government is weak, propped up by the far right and despised by leftist lawmakers who filed the no-confidence motion on Friday.

The no-confidence motion was always a longshot, as it needed the backing of the far-right National Rally (RN) party to get over the line a move RN lawmakers had signalled they were unwilling to take.

On Tuesday, 197 lawmakers voted in favour of the motion well short of the 289 votes that were needed.

`The motion has not been adopted,` said Yael BraunPivet, speaker and president of the parliament.

All eyes will now turn to Barnier`s first budget proposal, due to be unveiled on Thursday and which is likely to include bruising tax hikes and spending cuts totalling some 60 billion euros ($65.9 billion) to bring down an ever-widening deficit.

Getting the budget bill approved will be the next stern test of Barnier`s nascent term.

After Barnier set out his government`s policy blueprint last week, the RN`s Marine Le Pen said she wanted `to give a chance` to the prime minister. But she set out red lines, including that any tax increases be offset by increased spending power for the lower and middle classes.-Reuters