PARIS (Reuters) – Lawmakers from France’s main far right and far left parties threatened on Monday to vote no-confidence in Prime Minister Francois Bayrou’s government after the finance minister said next year’s budget would require billions of euros in savings.
A vote on next year’s budget is not due until the end of this year, but the subject is already testing the staying power of the government of Bayrou, who came to office in December after debate over the 2025 budget brought down his predecessor.
Finance Minister Eric Lombard said in an interview with BFM TV on Sunday that a plan to lower the budget deficit to 4.6% of economic output in 2026 from 5.4% this year would require savings of 40 billion euros.
Sebastien Chenu, a lawmaker and senior figure in the main far right National Rally, told Europe 1/CNews on Monday that the group would vote to topple the government if it imposes deep cuts on ordinary people.
“While constructing a budget that asks of French people to tighten their belts – and only of the French people to tighten their belts – that exposes them to a no-confidence motion from us,” Chenu said.
Manuel Bompard, national coordinator for the far left France Unbowed party, said it was ready to propose a no-confidence motion in coming days, but only if the entire left would support it.
The far left and far right do not have enough votes to topple the government without support from the centre left, which has not yet made similar statements. Bayrou’s government has so far survived other no-confidence votes.
(Reporting by Makini Brice; Editing by Gabriel Stargardter and Peter Graff)
