Overview

• Sébastien Lecornu scrapped the plan to abolish two public holidays that had drawn widespread backlash under François Bayrou’s proposed €44 billion package.
• He outlined a shift toward administrative savings, including decentralization, streamlining the bureaucracy, merging or closing agencies, and ending lifetime privileges for former ministers.
• Fitch downgraded France’s sovereign rating to A+, citing instability and high debt, as the government works to file its 2026 draft budget by 7 October.
• Lecornu opened consultations with unions, employers and left parties, saying he will discuss tax fairness, while the left pushes for higher taxes on big companies and the wealthy and business leaders and conservatives resist.
• Nationwide strikes are planned for Thursday and no-confidence threats from the Greens and LFI add to uncertainty, leaving the Socialist Party’s position crucial for any budget deal.