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.
The 2026 budget process concluded on February 2, 2026, when the National Assembly rejected two censure motions tabled against Sébastien Lecornu's government. A motion from the left (excluding PS) received 260 votes, short of the 289 needed, while the National Rally (RN) motion garnered 135. This paved the way for final adoption of the finance bill after three months of debates, concessions—including to PS deputies on issues like suspending the 2023 retirement reform—and three invocations of Article 49.3.
Lecornu celebrated on X: 'France finally has a budget,' describing it as a 'parliamentary compromise incorporating amendments from all groups' that controls spending without raising taxes on households or businesses. Public Accounts Minister Amélie de Montchalin called it 'useful to the French from today.' The budget will be reviewed by the Constitutional Council.
Opposition voices were critical. RN leader Jordan Bardella labeled it a 'tax-dripping budget' with €30 billion in new levies on businesses. LFI's Mathilde Panot and Clémence Guetté decried the PS's alignment with the government, calling it a 'Hollande-Lecornu budget' with deep cuts. Assembly President Yaël Braun-Pivet framed it as providing 'stability through compromise.'
Key measures include extending high-income contributions, taxes on small packages and tips, increased social/local spending, and savings efforts—though Moody’s projects a 5.2% deficit. The deal averts early elections but heightens tensions ahead of March municipals.
