Senate President Gérard Larcher called the 2026 budget 'bad,' co-constructed with the Socialist Party, and announced that the upper house will monitor its execution. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu resorted to Article 49.3 to pass the revenues and expenses sections, narrowly avoiding two no-confidence motions. The text could be promulgated mid-February, with cuts in public spending.
In an interview published in the Journal du Dimanche, Gérard Larcher, Les Républicains president of the Senate, sharply criticized the 2026 state budget draft. 'This remains a bad budget, co-constructed with the Socialist Party and which does not bring the solutions the country needs,' he stated. He regretted that 'no one talks about the 4.7% deficit anymore,' while the text provides for a public deficit of 5% of GDP.
The budget, passed without a vote in the National Assembly via Article 49 paragraph 3 of the Constitution, returns to the Senate, dominated by the right and centrists. Larcher warned that senators will implement 'very careful monitoring of budget execution, point by point and on documents.' 'We will be 'agents of surveillance,' which the Senate knows how to do very well,' he added, mentioning the option of a preliminary rejection motion to end it quickly.
On Friday, January 23, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu invoked a first 49.3 on the revenues section, despite his initial promise to abandon it. Two no-confidence motions, from La France insoumise and the Rassemblement national, were rejected, thereby validating this part. Economy Minister Roland Lescure expressed relief, noting that France is 'about to have a budget.' A second 49.3 was used for expenses, with planned cuts in France 2030 credits, several ministries, and an effort requested from municipal groupings.
Despite the political crisis stemming from François Bayrou's fall in September 2025 and the resignation of the first Lecornu government in October, the text could be promulgated mid-February, one and a half months late. Financial markets reacted positively, with the French debt spread falling to 59 basis points, its lowest since June 2024. Lecornu, during a visit to Rosny-sous-Bois, called to 'move forward' toward 2027 after three months of heated debates.
