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yesterday

Bayrou’s 2026 Austerity Budget Prompts No-Confidence Threat

Opposition parties led by the National Rally are preparing no-confidence motions ahead of detailed budget debates this autumn.

Image
A view shows a beach with deckchairs and parasols on a sunny summer day on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, France, July 8, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Coombs/File Photo
A banner which reads "Successive budget cuts' is seen on the ground during a demonstration organised by the CGT Spectacle labour union to denounce budget cuts in the cultural sector, in Avignon, France, July 16, 2025. REUTERS/Manon Cruz

Overview

  • Bayrou unveiled a plan to cut €43.8 billion from the 2026 budget to reduce the deficit to 4.6 percent of GDP, proposing the elimination of Easter Monday and May 8 public holidays.
  • The outline freezes most public sector salaries and welfare benefits, slashes healthcare spending by €5 billion, and cuts 3,000 civil servant positions while exempting planned defence spending increases.
  • France’s public debt stands at 114 percent of GDP, the second highest in the EU after Greece and Italy, prompting Bayrou to warn of a debt crisis risk akin to those in Greece and Spain.
  • National Rally leader Jordan Bardella condemned the holiday cuts as an attack on France’s history and labour rights, and far-left and union leaders have called for Bayrou’s resignation.
  • Bayrou’s minority government must secure support for the full budget bill when it reaches Parliament in autumn or face further no-confidence votes and potential EU sanctions.