Overview

• After meeting parliamentary leaders, Sébastien Lecornu opened talks with unions and employer groups while financial markets awaited a Friday night Fitch rating update.
• La France Insoumise warned it will file an immediate no-confidence motion at the next session if Lecornu does not request a confidence vote himself, and Marine Le Pen reiterated threats tied to a promised policy shift.
• Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure set conditions for tolerating the budget, including a Zucman-style wealth tax and a pledge to avoid Article 49.3, while confirming the PS will not enter the cabinet.
• Lecornu courted conservative backing by visiting Nicolas Sarkozy and signaling he could pair the budget with two or three bills addressing Republican priorities.
• Street pressure intensified with roughly 200,000 protesters, reported clashes, and 675 arrests, and unions called a nationwide action day for next week as borrowing costs rose after Bayrou’s fall.