Macron govt tastes first defeat in NA

PARIS, July 13 (AFP): France's government has suffered its first defeat in parliament after President Emmanuel Macron's ruling party lost its majority in elections last month.

The National Assembly (NA) rejected a proposal on Tuesday night to give the government powers to demand travellers show proof of vaccination or a negative Covid-19 test when entering France.

The defeat by 219 votes to 195 saw all the major opposition parties-the far-right National Rally (RN), the hard left LFI, and rightwing Republicans (LR) -- unite against the minority government.

"The circumstances oblige the government to listen to opposition parties which at the moment it has a few difficulties in doing," top Republicans MP Olivier Marleix told Sud Radio on Wednesday morning.

Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne condemned the obstruction and allies sought to stress how the so-called "extremes"-the far-right and hard-left-had teamed up together.

"Clear collusion between the extremes, each one applauding the other," MP Maud Bregeon from Macron's Republic on the Move wrote on Twitter alongside a video.

Fellow ruling party Remy Rebeyrotte criticised "an atmosphere like a football match" during the debate where speakers were routinely shouted down.

The most senior MP in the hard-left LFI party, Mathilde Panot, referred to ruling party MPs as "Playmobils"-an insult comparing them to inanimate toys.

Despite the setback on the border controls, a wider bill to tackle the seventh wave of Covid-19 infections passed the assembly with 221 votes in favour and 187 against.