In the National Assembly, proposals to tax the ultra-rich, including the Zucman tax and its lighter version, were rejected on Friday, October 31. Negotiations between socialists and Sébastien Lecornu's government yielded no results, leaving the Socialist Party at an impasse. New talks are scheduled for the weekend to avert an immediate government fall.
Friday, October 31, was an intense day at the National Assembly, featuring tense debates in the chamber and negotiations in the corridors of the Palais-Bourbon and at Matignon. Socialists had issued an ultimatum: adopt the Zucman tax on high wealth – targeting fortunes over 100 million euros at a 2% rate – or its lighter version, the 'Mercier' tax (championed by PS deputy Estelle Mercier from Meurthe-et-Moselle, taxing from 10 million euros at 3%), or face government censure.
No compromise emerged. A last-minute lunch at Matignon, bringing together PS first secretary Olivier Faure, PS deputy leader Boris Vallaud, and Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, ended in failure. 'We are slowly heading towards a wall,' Faure confided to close associates. He added regarding the meal: 'where we neither advanced nor concluded.'
Hours later, both taxes were overwhelmingly rejected by deputies. Lecornu, present from mid-afternoon, spoke at 6:30 p.m. to announce new meetings with parliamentarians from all groups – except the 'insoumis,' who have already declined – 'to try to find major principles and aggregates on which we can progress.' These talks, set for the weekend, grant the government 48 hours of respite, leaving the 2026 budget outcome uncertain. Budget debates have been ongoing for several days, without immediate government collapse.