France, Dec. 10 -- The bill scraped through by 247 votes to 234, with 93 abstentions, after weeks of bargaining and a tense day that ended with ministers hugging when the result was read out.

On the platform X, Lecornu praised what he called a "majority of responsibility" and said the result showed that "compromise is not a slogan, it allows us to move forward in the general interest".

MPs from President Macron's centrist Renaissance party, its ally MoDem, the centre-left Socialist Party and the cross-party LIOT group largely backed the text, while the far-right National Rally, its Ciotti allies, France Unbowed and some Communists voted against.

The minister for relations with Parliament, Laurent Panifous, told centrist daily Le Monde ...