Lecornu survives the votes of no confidence and France emerges from political deadlock

BarcelonaThe government of Sébastien Lecornu survived two no-confidence motions on Monday over the budget bill. "It's time to turn the page and for France to have a budget," the French prime minister declared in the National Assembly. The debate surrounding the public accounts, which had kept France on the brink of another government collapse, has dominated much of the executive's political activity since Lecornu's appointment last September. To break the deadlock, Lecornu made several concessions to the Socialist Party, securing their support for the no-confidence motion brought by the left. The Socialists' votes were crucial for its success, but, as expected, it was ultimately defeated, receiving only 260 of the 289 votes needed. In addition to this motion, the French prime minister also faced another proposal from the far right, which, with 135 votes in favor, also failed to garner the necessary support to pass. Now, the accounts will have to be approved by the Constitutional Council.

During the parliamentary debate prior to the vote, Lecornu reproached both Marine Le Pen's far right and the left-wing La France Insoumise, led by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, for having "sabotaged" and "blocked everything" in recent months. "They will have to answer for this before history," the prime minister declared.

The accounts were approved without a vote.

Despite promising not to activate Article 49.3 of the Constitution, which allows the approval of budgets without a vote, he ultimately Lecornu has had no other option to provide the country with public accounts which set the public deficit at around 5% of GDP in 2026, compared to 5.4% the previous year, within the downward trajectory to which France had committed with Brussels. The goal is to bring it below 3% by 2029. Among the concessions to the Socialists included in the budget are an increase in the employment bonus for low-income workers and a tax on asset-holding companies, which are accused of sometimes being used to Eurozone university taxes. This is a lifeline for the government and for President Emmanuel Macron, avoiding another snap election as demanded by Marine Le Pen's far right and also by the left-wing La France Insoumise, led by Jean-Luc Mélenchon. All this comes just a few months after the Lecornu government's life expectancy seemed short, given its lack of a majority in the National Assembly and the Socialists' uncooperative stance.