Lecornu and his government entered the new year with mostly risky options to finalize France’s fiscal plans after lawmakers in the country’s hung parliament failed to pass a proper budget before the end of 2025.
Lecornu had, early in his tenure, ruled out using Article 49.3 to pass a budget, betting the concession would help ensure the survival of his minority government.
But on Monday he acknowledged that despite personal “regret” and “bitterness,” he would need to go back on his word, saying that while the government wanted the parliamentary procedure to continue “until the end,” the legislature’s fractured nature had made it impossible.
The success of the PM’s maneuver will likely depend on getting the Socialist Party, who have played a kingmaker role throughout Lecornu’s tenure, to abstain from voting for any censure. Boris Vallaud, a high-ranking Socialist, said Monday the party could play ball thanks to concessions announced Friday, which include €1 lunches for university students and more spending on social housing.
The government is currently being financed by an emergency measure passed late last year that effectively just rolls over the 2025 budget into the new year. That legislative bandage does nothing to cut France’s chronically high budget deficit, which Lecornu reiterated Friday must be brought down to 5 percent of gross domestic product this year.