Politics France's prime minister pushes budget through lower house

SDA

3.2.2025 - 16:56

dpatopbilder - Francois Bayrou, Prime Minister of France. Photo: Thibault Camus/AP/dpa
dpatopbilder - Francois Bayrou, Prime Minister of France. Photo: Thibault Camus/AP/dpa
Keystone

France's minority government has pushed the budget for the current year through the National Assembly without a vote.

Keystone-SDA

Prime Minister François Bayrou used a special article of the constitution to do so. The center-right cabinet now faces another vote of no confidence. However, it is expected that the government will survive the vote.

The government's budget plan envisages a significant reduction in the national deficit - among other things by reducing public spending. The EU Commission has initiated deficit proceedings against Europe's second-largest economy due to its excessive new debt.

Government unlikely to fall in the event of a vote of no confidence

Before the austerity budget is finally passed, it still has to overcome further hurdles. The left-wing party La France Insoumise has already announced that it will call for a vote of no confidence in the government due to the budget being pushed through. If a majority of MPs were to withdraw their confidence in the government, the budget would also fail. However, this is considered unlikely as the Socialists want to back the center-right government.

If the vote of no confidence fails, the budget is adopted in the National Assembly. It must then be finally approved in the second chamber of parliament, the Senate. Approval in the conservative-dominated upper house is considered certain.

In December, France's left-wing camp and Marine Le Pen's right-wing nationalists toppled the then center-right government of Michel Barnier with a vote of no confidence in the dispute over the social budget. The Socialists withdrew their confidence in Barnier at the time.