French PM ends budget deadlock after no confidence motions beaten

Lawmakers rejected two no-confidence motions from the hard-left and far-right parties tabled after the premier on Friday forced his budget through parliament without a vote for the third and final time.

The outcome cleared the way for the budget's final approval after four months of political deadlock over government spending.

"France finally has a budget," Lecornu wrote on X after the vote, hailing a "parliamentary compromise" which "curbs public spending" and "does not hike taxes for households and businesses".

The stalemate had pushed the prime minister last month to make an about-face on his pledge not to force the budget through parliament without a vote, a decision he called a "partial failure".

But the 39-year-old survived the latest challenges after making concessions to gain the backing of the Socialists -- a key swing group in parliament.

He had weathered two previous rounds of no-confidence motions, also triggered by his use of the constitutional provision known as Article 49.3 to push the bill through parliament in earlier stages of the process.

Speaking ahead of Monday's votes, Lecornu criticised what he called those who want to "reject everything", targeting the far-right National Rally and the hard-left France Unbowed who sought to bring his government down.

Motions tabled by France Unbowed, the Greens and other left-wing groups drew 260 of the 289 votes needed to oust the government. The far-right motion secured only 135 votes.
Deficit-cutting effort
The bill aims to cut France's deficit to five percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2026 from 5.4 percent in 2025, after the government eased back from an earlier target of 4.7 percent.

The budget includes higher taxes on some businesses, expected to bring in about 7.3 billion euros ($8.6 billion) in 2026, though the Socialists failed to secure backing for a proposed wealth tax on the super-rich.

The Socialists did, however, win several sought-after measures, including a one-euro meal for students and an increase in a top-up payment for low-income workers.

The plan boosts military spending by 6.5 billion euros, a move the premier last week described as the "heart" of the budget.
State spending row
In December, lawmakers narrowly adopted the social security budget, part of the broader spending plan, postponing an unpopular pensions reform until January 2028, after President Emmanuel Macron's term ends.

They failed to reach a compromise on state expenses, complicated by a tug-of-war between a right-leaning Senate pushing for savings and the lower house where no wing has a majority and the left has demanded more tax income.

France is under pressure from the European Union to rein in its debt-to-GDP ratio -- the bloc's third-highest after Greece and Italy -- which is close to twice the EU's 60-percent ceiling.

The country has been bogged down in political crises since Macron called a snap poll in 2024, in which he lost his parliamentary majority.

Lecornu was named premier in September -- then renamed the following month having stepped down -- after his two predecessors were both toppled by parliament over cost-cutting measures.