French Green lawmakers, joined by the hard-left France Unbowed and a single Socialist deputy, formally submitted a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu’s government on Thursday, citing an inadequate response to the late-June heatwave that public health officials say has already caused at least 1,000 excess deaths. The motion, signed by 58 members of the National Assembly, is scheduled for debate on 6 July. However, its prospects of toppling the minority administration are viewed from Paris as extremely limited after the right-wing National Rally declared it would not support the measure, and the Socialist Party has refrained from backing any of the previous no-confidence votes filed since Lecornu took office last year.

The Greens and their allies argue that the government bears direct responsibility for the human toll of the extreme temperatures, which began on 20 June and pushed thermometers above 40°C across much of the country. Cyriele Chatelain, who leads the Green parliamentary group, told the National Assembly that the executive’s handling of the crisis contributed to the fatalities. Some Green deputies have suggested the true death count could reach 10,000, a figure Prime Minister Lecornu dismissed as “scandalous” and “undignified.” Government spokesperson Maud Bregeon countered that the motion itself was an act of political escalation, stating that “there is a government managing the crisis, and there are political forces fueling it.”

According to the French public health agency, the heatwave has driven a sharp increase in mortality, with daily deaths rising from a pre-heatwave average of 900–1,000 to over 1,400 on the hottest days. Approximately 85 per cent of the deceased were aged 65 or older, and deaths at home, particularly in the Paris region, surged by around 40 per cent. The agency cautioned that the preliminary figure of 1,000 excess deaths is likely to rise as data are completed. National weather forecaster Météo France has warned that although temperatures have dipped from record highs, they remain around 30°C and are expected to climb again at the weekend, with a third heatwave possible the following week.

The political arithmetic in the National Assembly makes the motion’s failure almost certain. The National Rally’s refusal to back it denies the left the votes needed to reach an absolute majority, and the Socialists’ consistent abstention on previous no-confidence motions against Lecornu’s government signals that the broader left cannot unite behind the initiative. Viewed from European capitals, the episode illustrates how extreme weather events are increasingly becoming flashpoints for domestic political accountability, even when the immediate legislative outcome is preordained. The debate on 6 July will provide a platform for opposition parties to press their critique, but the government is expected to survive the vote and continue managing the ongoing heat crisis.