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France’s 2026 Budget Stalls in Assembly as Nov. 23 Deadline Nears

A swelling backlog has revived the prospect that the government could set the budget by ordinance if first‑reading work is not finished in time.

Overview

  • Debates resumed with roughly 1,500 to nearly 2,000 amendments still pending, making a vote on the revenue chapter uncertain and leaving the spending chapter unlikely to be examined before the transmission deadline.
  • The government rejects accusations of “playing the clock,” while LFI warns it will file a censure motion if the executive uses ordinances to finalize the budget.
  • Jordan Bardella says the RN will vote against both the state and social‑security budgets regardless of concessions, opposes a small‑parcel levy, and touts wins on business relief and higher taxes on multinationals backed with LFI.
  • The Social Security bill sent to the Senate includes a suspension of the 2023 pension reform, yet Senate social‑affairs commissioners have already deleted that clause ahead of debates starting Wednesday.
  • A separate 2025 year‑end finance bill returns to the Assembly with a VAT shortfall estimated around €5 billion under scrutiny, as Bercy launches a probe into the gap and adjusts credits and cancellations.