On January 13, 2026, the French National Assembly resumed examination of the 2026 finance bill, following the failure to reach agreement in the joint parliamentary committee in December. Economy Minister Roland Lescure assured deputies that the text is "within reach," urging a final effort for compromise. Yet few lawmakers believe it can pass without invoking article 49.3 or using ordinances.
On Tuesday, January 13, 2026, the National Assembly began a new reading of the 2026 finance bill amid widespread skepticism. Economy and Finance Minister Roland Lescure addressed the deputies in a five-minute speech, stating: "The budget is within reach." He stressed the urgency of agreement on substance, saying: "The urgency is to agree on the substance; one last effort is necessary: a large part of you want to achieve it. Let us agree, reduce the damage, and allow France to move forward."
This session follows the failure of negotiations in the joint parliamentary committee in December and a rejection in committee on January 10 after nearly thirty hours of discussions. Public Accounts Minister Amélie de Montchalin noted that after "hundreds of hours of debates" and examination of "several thousand amendments," it is time to conclude. She identified three priority areas: funding for local authorities, future expenditures (education, research, ecological transition, housing), and purchasing power to protect the most modest.
The government, led by Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, is attempting gestures to unblock the situation. In a meeting at Bercy on January 12, it proposed taxing large companies more heavily and renouncing a 50% increase in residence permit renewal fees. However, talks yielded no breakthrough, with communists and ecologists absent, and the right holding firm, according to general rapporteur Philippe Juvin (The Republicans).
In the evening, deputies voted—against the government's advice and on a La France Insoumise initiative—to index local authorities' global operating grant on inflation, resulting in a 1.3% increase for 2026, or an additional 248 million euros. Lescure deemed recent discussions "extremely useful," expressing confidence in a compromise similar to the social security financing bill passed in December. The final text would aim to cap the public deficit at 5% of GDP maximum, sharing the effort among economic actors.
Despite the displayed optimism, opposition from the National Rally, La France Insoumise, ecologists, and communists persists, making a vote without exceptional measures unlikely. The chamber did, however, reject a preliminary rejection motion tabled by La France Insoumise, allowing debates to continue, potentially until late January.
