Budget
National Assembly rejects censure motions, seals France's 2026 budget
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Following concessions to socialists and uses of Article 49.3, France's National Assembly on February 2 rejected two censure motions against PM Sébastien Lecornu's government, definitively adopting the 2026 finance bill targeting a 5% GDP deficit. Lecornu hailed the parliamentary compromise amid opposition outcry, with the text now headed to the Constitutional Council.
In a Le Monde op-ed, financier Jean Gatty criticizes France's projected 2026 budget deficits and suggests adopting a Warren Buffett-inspired measure to bar lawmakers' re-election if the deficit exceeds 3% of GDP.
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Kerala General Education and Labour Minister V. Sivankutty has sharply criticized the Union Budget 2026-27 for ignoring public school education and betraying workers' interests in favor of corporates. He highlighted the lack of focus on school infrastructure and worker welfare. Sivankutty urged the Centre to adopt Kerala's inclusive education models.
Over four consecutive budget cycles from 2023 to 2026, hundreds of billions of pesos allocated for infrastructure projects like airports, railways, and flood control were stripped from the national budget. This led to idle loans, escalating costs, and harm to communities. According to a former budget secretary, this defunding did not save money but wasted it.
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France's Ministry of National Education announced, one month late, a distribution of resources for the 2026 school year that includes more teacher job cuts than outlined in the draft finance law. Public primary schools will lose 2,229 positions, and middle and high schools over 1,800. The ministry describes this as merely a 'reserve adjustment'.
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.
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The issue of controlling public sector workforce resurfaces during the 2026 budget review. The Senate revived the principle of not replacing one in two retiring civil servants, a measure started under Nicolas Sarkozy. This longstanding debate on the number of civil servants in France spans political eras.
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