In France, gov’t survives two no-confidence votes
French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu barely survived two no-confidence votes on Thursday, following weeks of political turmoil and fighting to get a budget with controversial retirement policies passed.
Filed by the far-left France Unbowed party, Marine Le Pen of the far-right National Rally and her allies in Parliament, the first no-confidence motion received 271 lawmakers in the 577-seat chamber were in favor, falling short by 18 votes of the 289 required to pass. The second vote by Le Pen got just 144 lawmakers in support, as her party and the Union of the Right for the Republic were the only ones to back up her motion.
This failure to pass the vote gives the country a break from weeks of political unrest. If passed, it would have marked the second government collapse in two weeks.
Lecornu, the fifth prime minister to serve in two years, has been in power since September after François Bayrou’s ousting in a parliamentary vote over the budget deficit. Amid the worst political turmoil the country has faced in decades, Lecornu announced his resignation on Oct. 6 — just to be reappointed by French President Emmanual Macron less than a week later. Despite backlash, the failure of Thursday’s vote was not a surprise, after Lecornu delayed unpopular pension revisions that would raise the legal retirement age from 62 to 64.
“It is everyone’s duty to work toward stability, not to bet on instability,” Macron told reporters in Egypt, where he was attending a summit on the peace process for Gaza. He also said that he wanted France to “move forward in peace, stability, seriousness.”
In a fragile standing amongst the government, Lecornu renounced a constitutional power to pass the budget through parliament without lawmaker’s approval. While pressure remains on the prime minister, he hopes to use this as leverage to pass the 2026 budget bill, which he must do by the end of the year.
In Italy, three arrested for suspected murder after house explosion
Three individuals were arrested on Tuesday after a house exploded in Castel d’Azzano and killed three military officers, injuring at least a dozen others. The suspects, three siblings who had been illegally living in the farmhouse for over a year, were charged with premeditated murder.
“It appears they had stored some gas cylinders for some time and had filled the attic with air to detonate them,” Antonello Panuccio, deputy mayor of Castel d’Azzano, told Rai News 24.
The explosion occurred moments after Carabinieri officers — Italy’s military police — and other law enforcement entered the house under a search warrant for flammable materials. After finding the gas canisters inside the two-story home, investigators suspected that the case was premeditated.
The three accused residents, all in their 50s and 60s, had previously received several eviction orders — including one from a year ago which they responded to by threatening to blow up the home, Raffaele Tito, chief prosecutor of Verona told reporters on Tuesday. Tito said the warrant had been issued to look for flammable materials.
The family was offered temporary accommodation in the area near the town’s municipality, though they rejected the offer, Panuccio told The New York Times.
The blast was heard several miles out, and the building collapsed almost immediately, according to firefighters on the scene. A rescue team present helped pull victims stuck under rubble as fire blazed on the site.
Two of the three suspects — a brother and sister both in their 60s — were arrested at the home on Tuesday, though the woman was hospitalized for injuries. The third sibling was arrested shortly after in a nearby field and taken into custody, according to Italian officials.
In the United Kingdom, England becomes first European country to qualify for men’s football World Cup
England’s national football team became the first European country to qualify for the 2026 men’s World Cup on Tuesday. After the 5-0 win against Latvia — two goals from captain Harry Kane in the first half — the English secured a spot in what will be their eighth consecutive World Cup.
Under head coach Thomas Tuchel, who assumed the role in January after Gareth Southgate’s resignation, the team has not conceded a goal in six matches.
Following countries such as Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay, England also qualified before Spain, who they lost to in the finals of last summer’s European championship.
Expanding to include 48 teams, the 23rd men’s World Cup is set to be the biggest one yet. With an opening match on June 11 in Mexico City and final on July 19 in New Jersey, this will be the first time the tournament has taken place in three different countries, hosting 104 matches across the United States, Mexico and Canada.
As of Sept. 18, England stands as fourth in FIFA’s team ranking, though an updated ranking will be released Oct. 22. The team has made it to a World Cup final only once before, in 1966, when they won against West Germany and secured their only major tournament win.
Drawing for the group stage of the tournament will be held on Dec. 5 at John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C. Though their spot in the tournament has been confirmed, the English team still has two matches in the World Cup qualifiers. Countries such as France, Portugal and Spain are expected to be confirmed in the coming days.
Contact Eva Mundo at [email protected].