国际英语资讯:French new government comfortably wins assembly confidence vote

PARIS, July 4 -- The multiform government of France headed by the centrist Edouard Philippe won with a large majority the confidence vote at the lower house of the parliament on Tuesday, after presenting the country's general policies over the coming five years.

After a long speech by the prime minister in front of lawmakers detailing the government political, economic and social plans, the National Assembly voted confidence in the new government by 370 ballots against 67 while 129 abstained.

In a lower house dominated by President Emmanuel Macron's centrist Republic on the Move party (LREM), the massive approval of the government's program is not a surprise.

LREM won 308 seats in the 577-member National Assembly earlier this month.

"The President of the Republic has shown us the course...This course is clear, it must be held," Philippe told lawmakers.

In details, he mentioned policies to cut public spending, trim deficit, bolster security and improve education and health systems.

"The French are hooked on public spending. Like all addictions it doesn't solve any of the problems it is meant to ease. And like all addictions, it requires willing and courage to detox," Philippe said.

"The financial and fiscal situation is bad...The government's choice is clear, we will not deal with deficits by raising taxes, but by lowering spending," he added.

The government had set deficit target below the safe line of 3 percent imposed by the European Union in 2017 mainly by cutting public spending by 3 percentage points of the gross domestic product (GDP) by 2022.

Furthermore, it targets to cut the country's tax burden by 1 percentage point of the GDP over the period.

Macron's cabinet also said working to reduce corporate tax to 25 percent from the current 33.3 percent and transform by 2019 "CICE" company tax credit to a permanent cut in payroll charges in order to improve firms' competitiveness and incite recruitment.

Speaking about security, the prime minister warned that more terrorist attacks are expected at home, adding the state of emergency which has been declared in 2017 will end on Nov. 1.

He added that defense will make up 2 percent of GDP by 2025.

Presenting the government's five-year-roadmap, Philippe also shed lights on the cabinet's social reform which he said aimed to set more fair and transparent model, in addition to a review of education and health systems.

He will present to the Senate, the upper parliament, a similar speech on the same subject on Wednesday.