French Premier Bayrou in the Hot Seat Again

Welcome to the Brussels Edition, Bloomberg’s daily briefing on what matters most in the heart of the European Union.

French Prime Minister François Bayrou is expected to survive today’s no-confidence vote, but only because the powerful far right has chosen not to topple the government for now. The ballot, triggered by the Socialist Party, follows a collapse of talks on tweaking contentious pension reforms. The parliamentary reprieve may be short-lived, though, with Bayrou’s government facing challenges over the budget it’s due to present by mid-July. The finance plan includes another round of spending cuts and tax increases that are widely opposed by lawmakers but urgently needed to rein in the country’s growing debt pile. All this comes just as Europe has committed to a military spending spree, while the perilous July 9 deadline for a trade deal with the US is just over a week away.