02/02/2026, 07:3702/02/2026, 07:37
After months of struggle, heavily indebted France finally receives a budget for the current year. Before the budget is officially considered approved, minority Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu must survive two no-confidence votes in the National Assembly this Monday evening. These were requested by the right-wing nationalists of Marine Le Pen on the one hand and the left, the Greens and communists on the other.
French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu.Image: EPA
Their attempted overthrow is a reaction to Lecornu pushing the budget through the National Assembly without a final vote after an unsuccessful search for a compromise with a special article of the constitution. However, the center government is not expected to fall. Lecornu secured the support of the socialists through concessions. In the past few weeks, the Prime Minister has already survived four no-confidence votes related to the budget.
French MP from the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) party, Marine Le Pen, gives a speech during a meeting on two motions of no confidence against the government.Image: EPA
Budget adoption positive signal for the economy
Even if there is not much left of the originally planned austerity budget, the adoption of the budget is likely to be welcomed by France’s economy and EU partner countries such as Germany. Companies are getting clarity again for investments and hiring staff. The public sector can also invest again. The prospect of France addressing its debt problems is also a positive signal to the EU. After all, the budget deficit should fall to five percent, even if there were previously more ambitious goals.
For politically divided France, in which none of the political camps has a majority in parliament and forging coalitions is unusual, the search for a budget compromise was, as in the previous year, a feat of strength. Lecornu’s predecessors François Bayrou and Michel Barnier were killed in a dispute over budget issues in parliament.
Government reshuffle planned
Lecornu, a close confidant of President Emmanuel Macron, made passing a budget his main goal when he took office with the current government in the fall. Now that he has overcome this cliff, he can focus on other pressing issues such as agricultural and energy policy as well as the desired decentralization. And a small government reshuffle is also likely to take place this month, partly because Culture Minister Rachida Dati is running for mayor in Paris in the local elections in March. (sda/dpa)