Deputies from the French Green Party submitted a motion to withdraw confidence from the government of Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu, against the backdrop of its handling of the intense heat wave that swept the country in late June, amid expectations of a new heat wave next week.
According to what was reported by Reuters, the proposal has the support of 32 deputies from the Green Party, 25 deputies from the left-wing France Proud Party, in addition to one deputy from the Socialist Party, and will be discussed in Parliament on July 6.
However, the chances of the proposal’s success appear limited, after the National Rally party announced its refusal to support it, while the Socialist Party had not previously supported any attempts to withdraw confidence from the government since Locorno assumed the presidency last year.
In response to the move, government spokeswoman Maud Bregon said that the government is “managing the crisis,” considering that political forces are seeking to “exacerbate the crisis” by submitting a motion to withdraw confidence.
Temperatures are still hovering around 30 degrees Celsius in most parts of France, despite falling below record levels, while the Meteorological Authority expects them to rise again early next week.
The National Public Health Agency had announced that at least 1,000 additional deaths had been recorded since June 20 as a result of the heat wave that struck Europe, indicating that the actual number may be higher.
On the other hand, representatives from the Green Party accused the government of bearing part of the responsibility for the deaths, while some of them spoke about the possibility of the number of victims reaching 10,000 people, which Prime Minister Sebastian Lecornu rejected, describing this number as a “scandal” and “humiliating.”
