Overview

• At Blois, the Socialist Party presented a 2026 plan to cut the deficit by €21.7 billion, fund new spending with a 2% levy on fortunes above €100 million, suspend the pension reform and target a return to retirement at 62, and deliver a targeted CSG cut for low wages.
• François Bayrou has set a 8 September confidence vote tied to €44 billion in savings, including a pension reindexation freeze and changes to the 10% tax abatement for retirees, arguing the effort is needed to halt debt growth by 2029.
• The PS will vote no and declared itself ready to govern, joining other left parties and the RN that have already said they will oppose confidence, while LFI and the Ecologists refused Bayrou’s consultation offers and the Communists and RN agreed to meet.
• The Élysée is preparing post-Bayrou scenarios and seeking a successor acceptable to LR and the PS, with the presidency dismissing a new dissolution as political fiction.
• Divisions persist in LR as Laurent Wauquiez urged Bayrou to revise the budget, called for a membership consultation, and avoided committing to support the confidence vote.