Tanguy said that were the government to collapse, it will still be able to introduce stopgap measures to ensure that the administration keeps functioning.
“We commit to vote in favor of that law,” Tanguy promised.
The financial markets, however, do not appear assuaged. Wednesday saw the interest rate on France’s benchmark 10-year government bond come within a mere one-hundredth of a point to its Greek counterpart. Additionally, the premium investors are demanding over the comparable German bond is now higher than at any time since the depths of the eurozone sovereign debt crisis in 2012, at 0.87 percentage points.
Barnier and the National Rally are at odds over the conservative grandee’s budget plans for 2025, which includes €60 billion in savings aimed at reducing the French deficit. The deficit is projected to come in at 6.1 percent of gross domestic product for 2024, more than double the European Union limit for overspending.
Since his appointment in early September, Barnier has made it clear that bringing down the deficit would be his key priority — a promise that has calmed those in Brussels worried about France’s overspending since the pandemic. The European Commission on Tuesday endorsed Barnier’s plan to get France’s finances in order.
Lawmakers have been debating Barnier’s budget for weeks, but with the end of the year nearing it has become increasingly clear that the prime minister will need to use a constitutional backdoor to pass it. The maneuver allows him to enact legislation without a vote — but in turn allows lawmakers to put forward motions of no confidence. An alliance of pan-left lawmakers has already announced to bring one forward.
