Heat fuels political debate in France, opposition seeks to bring down government with no-confidence motion

The crisis caused by high temperatures has also entered the French political arena. Green Party deputies have filed a no-confidence motion against the government, accusing it of failing to properly handle the extreme situation that has gripped the country since the end of June.

The initiative bears the signatures of 32 Green deputies, 25 lawmakers from the far-left La France Insoumise, and one Socialist deputy. The motion is expected to be taken up in the National Assembly on July 6, but the chances of it toppling Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu’s minority government are considered slim. The right-wing National Rally has announced that it will not support it, while the Socialists have so far not voted in favor of similar motions against the government.

The government responded through spokeswoman Maud Bregeon, who rejected the opposition’s move, saying the executive is dealing with crisis management while some political forces are seeking to escalate it through a no-confidence motion. According to French authorities, the heatwave that has affected Europe since June 20 has caused at least 1,000 additional deaths in France.

Although temperatures are no longer at the record levels seen in recent days, they continue to hover near 30 degrees Celsius across most of French territory. The weather service Météo-France warns that another heatwave could hit the country over the weekend and at the start of next week.

It is still not known exactly how long it will last, how intense it will be, or which areas this new spell of heat will affect. If it happens, this would be the third heatwave of the year, while the first appeared unusually early, as early as May.