Overcoming leftist revolt, French PM Manuel Valls wins confidence vote

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls has won a vote of confidence in a tense ballot, allowing him to push through economic reforms that have divided his Socialist Party.

The government's once comfortable margin was on Tuesday diluted in the 269-244 vote, with 53 abstentions - 31 of them Socialist - but still allows Valls to carry out reforms aimed at lifting France out of its economic crisis.

President Francois Hollande's popularity has plunged over failure to cure the nation's high unemployment rate, zero growth and oversized deficit. He had promised to create jobs for the French when he took office in 2012 after defeating the conservative incumbent, Nicolas Sarkozy.

In a speech laying out government policy before the vote, Valls addressed Socialist dissenters who feel he has abandoned his leftist ideals in favour of big business and is resorting to financial austerity measures. "We will continue this route ... until the end of the term," Valls said after the voting. "This is what the French expect, that we roll up our sleeves and be up to the challenges."