Overview

• Before talks with the National Rally and the Socialists, the prime minister said he would forgo using the constitutional shortcut that bypasses a vote for budget bills.
• He offered the Socialists a tax on financial holdings as a substitute for the left’s Zucman minimum wealth levy and reaffirmed opposition to restoring the ISF.
• He pledged improvements for women’s pensions within the social security budget and rejected repealing the 2023 reform, prompting the Socialist leader to demand a parliamentary vote on that law.
• Matignon is studying targeted measures such as an income‑tax break for couples just above minimum wage, tax‑free overtime, and the return of the ‘prime Macron’.
• Opposition parties welcomed the procedural shift but called it insufficient, and potential no‑confidence motions remain in play as Lecornu prepares his cabinet list and a policy speech in the coming days.