Prime Minister François Bayrou announced Saturday, February 1, in La Tribune Dimanche that he will use Article 49, Paragraph 3 of the Constitution to push the state and Social Security budgets through the National Assembly.
Lawmakers are set to review the conclusions of the joint committee on the state budget Monday afternoon, marking the first use of 49.3. They will then move on to a new reading of the Social Security budget, theoretically until Friday, providing the opportunity for a second reading.
"We must move forward without delay. A country like ours cannot be left without a budget. The only way is for the government to take responsibility. That will happen this Monday," Bayrou stated, expressing hope that within ten days, France will "finally have the essential budgets the nation needs."
Using article 49.3 carries the risk of a no-confidence vote. La France Insoumise (LFI) has already announced plans to file a no-confidence motion, which is expected to be supported by the Communist and Green parties. However, the National Rally (RN) and the Socialist Party (PS) have yet to clarify their stance. All eyes are on the Socialists, who have been negotiating the budget with the government for several weeks.
When asked about the risk of censure, Bayrou insisted that such a move "would be met with anger by the French people." "Both of these parties (RN and PS) know it as well as I do," he said, emphasizing that the PS had "acknowledged the efforts made" following the joint committee's deliberations.
The Prime Minister’s announcement comes a day after a joint committee approved a compromise version of the budget, reconciling differences between the National Assembly and the Senate. Bayrou hailed this as a "historic" agreement, noting that "for the first time, political groups with different perspectives have come together to finalize a budget proposal."
Eight of the fourteen committee members, all from the governing coalition, voted in favor of the agreement.
Bayrou confirmed that the budget’s adoption will ensure the deficit remains at 5.4% of GDP, as planned.