Macron’s govt wins no-confidence vote over bodyguard scandal

PARIS: The French government firmly defeated two no-confidence motions put forward by opposition lawmakers over its handling of a scandal involving President Emmanuel Macron’s bodyguard, confirming his solid majority.

Although the two motions had virtually no chance of succeeding, the votes capped a tumultuous two weeks in French politics after a video showing the bodyguard beating protesters triggered the most serious crisis of Macron’s tenure.

The motion backed by the conservative opposition party won 143 votes, falling short of the 289 necessary to topple the government, while the one put forward by an alliance of left-wing parties only gathered 74 votes.

Macron’s Republic On The Move party controls an outright majority in the lower house National Assembly and not a single of the president’s MPs broke ranks on Tuesday.

Despite the parliamentary victories, what has become known as the ‘Benalla affair’, after bodyguard Alexandre Benalla, has left an impact on Macron’s presidency, denting his popularity and throwing parts of his agenda off schedule.

The 40-year-old president was criticised for firing the aide only after the video showing him assaulting a May Day protester while wearing police gear was revealed by the press, undermining his claim of building an ‘exemplary Republic’.

As well as forcing his government to postpone a constitutional reform, the affair has pushed Macron down in the polls, with his popularity now at barely 36 per cent, according to one recent survey.