French Parliament approves extension of budgets due to inability to agree on public accounts for 2026

France continues to resort to desperate solutions. The National Assembly unanimously approved this Tuesday the special finance law, an emergency text which allows the State to collect taxes, maintain spending and borrow on the markets until January 1, always on the basis of the public accounts for the current year. A temporary patch in the form of a budget expansion.

The Minister of Public Accounts, Amélie de Montchalinwarns that this “minimum service” represents nothing other than a “maximum risk” for France, but the division of the parliamentary arc into three practically irreconcilable blocks prevents the articulation of majorities.

The majorities, on the other hand, necessary to achieve next year’s budgets, the stone in the president’s shoe, Emmanuel Macronwho must provide his country “as quickly as possible” with new public accounts which will make it possible to control the deficit of 4.5% and the debt, which has climbed above 117%.

Your Prime Minister, Sébastien Lecornuwhich against all expectations survived a motion of censure with many signs of prosperity, found oxygen last week thanks to the approval of the Social Security budgets. A resounding parliamentary victory which responded, to a large extent, to the abstention of several environmentalist deputies and the support of the socialist bench, satisfied with the suspension of Macron’s controversial pension reform.

But this time, the tenant of Matignon showed himself incapable of convincing the various parliamentary groups, with the notable exception of La Francia Insumisa (LFI) to Jean-Luc Mélenchon and the National Regroupment (RN) of Marine Le Penwith whom he doesn’t even speak.

Besieged by the populist left and the far right, Macronism is healing its wounds. “We know that this will not be the ideal budget. The time for major projects will be in 2027,” the centrist said on Tuesday. Jean-Paul Mattei from the speakers’ gallery.

Faced with the persistent blockage, some deputies – like Mattei himself – propose to apply article 49.3, a constitutional resource which allows a bill to be approved without subjecting it to the criteria of the Assembly. A mechanism whose use motivated the handling of the motion of censure which overthrew the government of Michel Barnier three months after the appointment of the former European Commissioner.

Lecornu, who promises to “be accountable” to public opinion to explain the government’s actions, particularly with regard to efforts to adopt the new budgets, promised not to use this letter to gain the confidence of the Socialist Party, a crutch for its continuity in power alongside the traditional right of the Republicans (LR).

The Senate will ratify the budget extension this Tuesday, and deputies will resume negotiations after the holidays to try to get the 2026 accounts back on track. Meanwhile, pressure is increasing on the second economy in the euro zone.