Overview
- Government spokesperson Maud Bregeon said the prime minister will confirm his choice after Monday’s Council of Ministers, stressing that nothing is excluded despite his earlier pledge to forgo 49.3.
- If article 49.3 is used, the government plans three activations on receipts, expenditures, and the final text, with Senate review in between and motions of censure expected throughout.
- Using budget ordinances would be unprecedented and would apply the initial bill only, forcing a later corrective law to include last‑minute changes, a route several Socialists warn would prompt immediate censure efforts.
- Socialist leaders signaled they could refrain from censure after concessions that include higher activity bonuses, €1 student meals, and a surtax on profits of 300 large companies expected to raise about €8 billion in 2026.
- Centrists and center‑right figures criticize the concessions for easing planned savings as the government targets a deficit near 5% of GDP without new household taxes, and business groups bristle at the corporate surtax.