Overview

• François Bayrou said he will invoke article 49.1 and ask the National Assembly for a vote of confidence on 8 September during an extraordinary session.
• La France insoumise, the Communists and the Ecologists, along with the Rassemblement National, have announced they will vote against, and Marine Le Pen called for a dissolution.
• Bayrou linked the confidence vote to endorsing roughly €44 billion in deficit reductions tied to the 2026 budget, presenting it as a necessary fiscal clarification.
• Under the Constitution, failure to secure an absolute majority would require the prime minister to submit the government’s resignation to the president.
• Support from the governing ‘socle commun’ is expected but not fully confirmed, and the Socialists have not settled on a common position.