President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday gave his "full support" to France's embattled prime minister, who has called a confidence vote that could see his government collapse next month, reports FRANCE 24.
Prime minister François Bayrou said he would request the confidence vote in a bitterly divided parliament on September 8, as he tries to garner enough support for his plan to slash spending.
But the main opposition parties said they would not back the prime minister's plan, with the far right urging Macron to call new parliamentary elections and the left-wing La France Insoumise (France Unbowed) saying the president himself must resign.
Macron, now on his sixth prime minister since taking office in 2017, chaired a meeting of his cabinet on Wednesday.
The president has given his "full support" to Bayrou's initiative, spokeswoman Sophie Primas told reporters after the meeting.
Macron also called on France's political parties "to act responsibly", Primas added.