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.

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 with the far right.

The prospects of French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou's minority government surviving in the long term appeared slimmer after the Socialist Party raised the threat of backing a no-confidence vote on Thursday.

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.