French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou passed the first test of his new minority government on Thursday as he survived a vote of no-confidence called by the hard left after the centre-left Socialist Party did not back the motion.

PARIS (Reuters) - The French centre-left Socialist party will not back a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Francois Bayrou's government, Le Figaro reported on Thursday, citing an intra-party meeting.

The long-term survival prospects of French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou's minority government have shrunk as he fights to keep the Socialist Party from backing a no-confidence vote on Thursday.

French Prime Minister François Bayrou survived his first major test in the National Assembly on Thursday after Socialist lawmakers and the far-right National Rally chose not to support a

French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou on Thursday survived his first vote of no confidence in parliament after the motion, brought by the leftist opposition, failed to gain traction on the far right

France's centre-left Socialist party will not back a no-confidence vote against Prime Minister Francois Bayrou on Thursday, its leader said, which will enable Bayrou's minority government to live to fight another day.

A total of 131 lawmakers voted in favour of the motion - well short of the 288 votes needed for it to pass. Read more at straitstimes.com.

Green and Communist parties have put forward a no-confidence motion against Bayrou's minority government. The political instability in France, which had four prime ministers last year, has rattled markets.