France faces the deadline for the budget law on Monday
Lawmakers are likely to make significant changes to the bill
An emergency law may be needed to keep the government running
PARIS, Oct 10 (Reuters) – French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu, reappointed late on Friday after resigning, faces an immediate test to introduce a 2026 budget bill by Monday to give it some chance of passing a divided parliament by the end of the year.
Here's a look at what's at stake:
WHY LECORNU IS IN A RACE AGAINST THE TIME
October 13 is the hard deadline for Lecornu to submit a bill – first to the cabinet and then to parliament on the same day.
This means that at least the ministers responsible for Finance, Budget and Social Security must have been appointed by then.
If the deadline is missed, lawmakers would no longer have 70 days to debate and approve the budget before the end of the year. The Constitutional Court also needs eight days to review the legislation.
Before resigning, Lecornu had already sent a draft to the Haut Conseil des Finances Publiques, France's independent budget watchdog, for review, as required by law.
WHAT IS IN THE DRAFT BUDGET? Lecornu did not reveal details of what is in the draft, but he did say after his resignation that the budget deficit should be reduced to between 4.7% and 5% of economic output next year, a wider gap than the 4.6% targeted by his predecessor. The deficit is estimated at 5.4% this year. He has ruled out a 2% tax on wealth above 100 million euros, as demanded by the left, but has promised to increase taxes on the rich by reducing the scope for fiscal optimism strategies.
WHAT IS HAPPENING IN PARLIAMENT?
If Lecornu is not defeated by a vote of no confidence, his bill will almost certainly be heavily amended in the National Assembly, where no party has a clear majority.
Before his reappointment, Lecornu had promised not to invoke special constitutional powers to bypass parliament and approve the budget, which would likely have led to a vote of no confidence against him.
Some left-wing lawmakers fear the new government is banking on parliament's failure to pass a budget within the 70-day period – which could allow the bill to be passed by decree.
WHAT HAPPENS IF LECORNU FALLS?
If Lecornu is toppled by a vote of no confidence, as some opponents are already promising, parliament would have to take emergency measures to authorize spending, taxes and loans from January 1 until a full budget is adopted.
France resorted to such emergency measures last December after the government of then-Prime Minister Michel Barnier was ousted, invalidating his proposed 2025 budget.
While an emergency bill could prevent a U.S. government shutdown, it would impose severe restrictions on government finances until a new administration could pass a full budget next year. (Reporting by Leigh Thomas; Editing by Richard Lough and Toby Chopra)
