"France decides for itself what it should do" in economic and budgetary terms: with these words, and a substantially unchanged government programme, the French premier Manuel Valls a asked for and got – today for the second time in less than six months – confidence to the National Assembly.
Valls addressed both Germany and the EU Commission in Brussels in his general policy speech to the French Parliament. "We reject austerity to defend the poorest", but we are committed - Hollande's right-hand man said - to "control public spending" to collect, as promised, 50 billion in savings by 2017.
However, the majority obtained by the new French government was very narrow: 269 votes in favor, against 244 against. To pass, 257 votes were enough.
