French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu uses constitutional power to pass part of the 2026 budget, triggering no-confidence threats from opposition parties.
PARIS: French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu forced part of the 2026 budget through parliament without a vote on Tuesday. The move exposes his government to no-confidence motions after budget negotiations reached an impasse.
Lecornu will have to repeat the measure twice more to enact the full budget into law. He faces multiple no-confidence votes tabled by opposition parties.
“Things are now at an impasse. The text can no longer be voted on. And we believe France must have a budget,” the prime minister told the National Assembly.
He said he had to resort to a constitutional measure because parliament was unable to fulfil its responsibility. Lecornu rebuked political groups for having blocked the budget.
The prime minister is now counting on the support of the Socialists, a key swing group, to survive the no-confidence votes. The opposition has vowed to table these motions.
President Emmanuel Macron praised the draft budget on Monday for keeping the country’s deficit to 5% of GDP. He said it “allows the country to move forward” and “required compromises and concessions from everyone”.
The move marked a rowback for Lecornu, who pledged last year to seek parliament’s approval. His two predecessors were ousted over budget negotiations.
On Monday, Lecornu conceded with “a certain degree of regret and a bit of bitterness” that he had to invoke the power. “It’s a partial success, partial failure,” he said.
Any use of “Article 49.3” can trigger a no-confidence vote, which can topple the government. The hard-left France Unbowed announced it had filed such a motion after the article was invoked.
The Greens and Communists plan to join the motion, and the far-right National Rally is expected to table one as well. The Socialists are not expected to vote for the France Unbowed motion.
Socialist party leader Olivier Faure told radio broadcaster France Inter that “we will not censure the government”. The party believes invoking Article 49.3 is “the least bad solution”.
Socialists have acknowledged “progress” on the latest draft, pointing to changes like an increase in a top-up benefit for the lowest-paid employees. The rollout of one-euro meals for students was also noted.
The next section of the budget to require Article 49.3 is expected to be delivered to parliament on Friday. After another no-confidence motion, the text must be reviewed by the Senate before final adoption in mid-February.
