France’s political extremes do not have enough lawmakers to bring down the government without the assistance of more centrist members of the opposition.
Lecornu announced Monday he would expose his government to the possible no-confidence votes by invoking a constitutional backdoor to finalize France’s fiscal plans after months of deadlock.
France entered the new year without a proper budget after lawmakers failed to adopt one in December but avoided a U.S.-style shutdown by rolling over last year’s budget into 2026.
The maneuver Lecornu is using to enact a proper budget — Article 49.3 of the French constitution — allows the government to pass legislation without a parliamentary vote but in turn gives opposition lawmakers the opportunity to respond with no-confidence votes.
Lecornu will Tuesday trigger Article 49.3 to pass the part of the budget that deals with tax revenue. If Lecornu’s government survives the motions of no confidence put forward in response, which are likely to be voted on Friday, it will immediately again trigger the article for the second part of the budget, which covers spending, according to Lecornu’s office.
The goal is to have the process wrapped by Jan. 30, said a parliamentary adviser.
While the text of the new budget is not public yet, Budget Minister Amélie de Montchalin on Monday promised that it would bring the country’s chronically high budget deficit down to at least 5 percent of gross domestic product this year. That target will be met thanks to €2 billion of unspecified savings by state agencies and other state bodies, and by extending a 2025 tax on 300 big companies which was meant to be temporary, de Montchalin said.
Anthony Lattier contributed to this report.
