Overview

• Invoking Article 49.1, the prime minister will ask the National Assembly to back his general policy declaration, and a rejection would require him to offer his government’s resignation.
• La France insoumise, the Rassemblement national, the Ecologists and the Communists have pledged to vote against, and PS leaders have signaled a no vote, making defeat likely under current arithmetic.
• Bayrou presents the austerity package as a response to high debt and deficits, with measures such as a one‑year freeze of indexation, a pause on some pensions and benefits, and scrapping two public holidays to save about €4.2 billion.
• The vote is set two days before the Sept. 10 ‘Bloquons tout’ call to action, as unions weigh mobilizations and plan an intersyndicale meeting on Friday.
• Following the announcement, the Paris stock index fell and French borrowing costs rose, and Bayrou begins outreach this week at CFDT and Medef events to rally support.