France’s minority government faces the prospect of a vote of no confidence next week after Prime Minister Francois Bayrou confirmed that he will use special powers to pass his budget without a vote in parliament.
“A country like ours cannot remain without a budget,” Bayrou told Sunday’s La Tribune Dimanche newspaper, confirming that he would use Article 49.3 of France’s constitution to bypass parliament.
The prime minister warned opposition parties that an attempt to topple his government would damage the economy.
France’s failure to approve the 2025 budget, which has been heavily delayed, has spooked investors and undermined business and household confidence.
The government had to make billions of euros in concessions to produce a bill that had a chance of being passed. Any failure to pass it would likely result in a shortened term for Bairu’s premiership.
His minority government gained support on Friday when a group of French lawmakers agreed on the final text of a budget proposal, sending the bill to the lower house for consideration next week. Opposition Socialists struck a constructive tone after the meeting, saying they were not thrilled with the text but were happy to have secured concessions aimed at improving the lives of ordinary people.
Clouds are thickening around the passage of the budgetÂ
The far-left La France insoumise (France Unbowed) party warned it would call a vote of no confidence if the government used article 49.3 of the constitution to pass a budget, something its Communist and Green allies would almost certainly support. However, they would need the support of the Socialists and the Rassemblement Nationale to topple the Bayrou government.
National Rassemblement MP Jean-Philippe Tanguy expressed dissatisfaction with the deal that was agreed on Friday. He did not say whether his party would back a potential vote of no confidence next week, but acknowledged that France needed to urgently finalise the budget.
According to official figures released earlier this week, France’s economy grew by 1.1 per cent in 2024 but contracted in the fourth quarter due to the political crisis gripping the country, dampening the positive impact of the Paris Olympics.