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France’s Budget Standoff Deepens as Lecornu Floats Dissolution and Prepares for Possible March Vote

Bercy hosts cross‑party talks Monday to forge a compromise that unlocks the 2026 budget.

Overview

  • The Assembly’s Finance Committee rejected the 2026 budget in a new reading, with plenary debates scheduled to resume this week.
  • Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu threatened to dissolve the Assembly and ordered preparations for potential legislative elections on 15 and 22 March alongside municipal polls, a plan decried by mayors as confusing and logistically fraught.
  • Two motions of censure from RN and LFI tied to the EUMercosur dispute are slated for examination midweek.
  • Public Accounts Minister Amélie de Montchalin convened parliamentary groups for a Monday meeting at Bercy to seek a deal before the end of January, warning that a censure would halt budget work and likely prevent adoption before the municipal elections.
  • Calls to use Article 49.3 have mounted from figures including François Hollande, as the government weighs 49.3 versus ordonnances and pursues a non‑censure understanding with the Socialists, who have set policy conditions.