French Prime Minister François Bayrou has warned that he will use special executive powers to force his government’s contentious 2025 budget through parliament without a vote – a move that is certain to trigger a no-confidence motion...

French PM Bayrou says will force through contentious budget without a vote

France’s minority government faced the prospect of a no-confidence motion next week after Prime Minister François Bayrou confirmed he would use special powers to force through his budget without a vote in parliament.

“A country like ours cannot remain without a budget,” Bayrou told the Sunday newspaper La Tribune Dimanche, confirming that he would use article 49.3 of the French constitution to bypass parliament.

The prime minister warned opposition parties that an attempt to topple his government would damage the economy. France's failure so far to approve the much-delayed 2025 budget has rattled investors while sapping business and household confidence.

The government has had to make billions of euros in concessions to forge a bill with a chance of being passed. Any failure to get it over the line will likely cut short Bayrou's premiership.

His minority government got a boost on Friday when a panel of French lawmakers agreed on the final text of a budget proposal, sending the bill to the lower house floor next week.

After the meeting, the opposition Socialists struck a constructive tone, saying they were not thrilled with the text, but were happy to have obtained concessions to improve the lives of ordinary people.

“This was not our budget; we are an opposition party and we have made that clear,” Socialist lawmaker Boris Vallaud told reporters. “We have managed to minimise the sufferings and the attacks on the purchasing power of retirees and patients.”

Conservative Les Républicains (LR) lawmaker Philippe Juvin said the budget “does not satisfy anyone, but it’s better than no budget.”

The hard-left La France insoumise (France Unbowed) party had warned it would call a no-confidence vote if the government used article 49.3 of the constitution to ram through the budget, a move its Communist and Green allies are almost certain to back.

However, they would need the support of the Socialists and the far-right National Rally to topple Bayrou’s government.

National Rally lawmaker Jean-Philippe Tanguy grumbled about the deal after it was agreed on Friday. He did not say whether his party would back a potential no-confidence motion next week, but he acknowledged the urgent need for France to finalise a budget.

The French economy grew 1.1 percent in 2024 but shrank in the fourth quarter as a political crisis gripped the country, weakening a boost from the Paris Olympic Games, official data showed earlier this week.

Finance Minister Eric Lombard told TF1 television on Friday that the government was sticking to its goal of bringing the public sector deficit to 5.4 percent of gross domestic product this year.

The public sector deficit was forecast to hit close to 6 percent last year due to a shortfall in tax income and higher-than-expected spending.

(FRANCE 24 with Reuters)

https://www.france24.com/en/france/20250202-french-pm-bayrou-says-will-force-through-contentious-budget-without-a-vote

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