France’s government is moving to pass emergency legislation to keep the state operating into January after lawmakers failed to agree on a 2026 budget, as pressure grows from investors and credit ratings agencies.
The stopgap bill would allow public spending, tax collection and borrowing to continue beyond the end of the year. Parliament is expected to vote on the measure on Tuesday.
Government spokeswoman Maud Brégeon said on Monday the emergency law was intended to give politicians time to complete budget negotiations in the new year.
“This special law is not a budget,” she said, quoting President Emmanuel Macron. “We must, as quickly as possible in January, deliver a budget for the country.”
The move follows the failure on Friday of a joint committee of lawmakers from both chambers to reach agreement on the full 2026 budget, prompting Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu to seek temporary legislation to avoid a shutdown.
France’s public finances are under close scrutiny, with the country running the largest budget deficit in the euro zone, raising concerns among investors and ratings agencies.
Conservative lawmaker Philippe Juvin, who has been steering the budget through the lower house, said he expected a final budget text to be adopted in early January.
Speaking to broadcaster BFM TV, he said he hoped the prime minister would consider using special constitutional powers to force through a compromise acceptable to Socialist lawmakers.
Lecornu has previously said he would not use those powers, which allow legislation to be adopted without a parliamentary vote.
Doing so would likely trigger a motion of no confidence from either the far right or the hard left, although such a move would be unlikely to succeed without Socialist support.
The prime minister’s minority government faces a fragmented parliament, where budget disputes have already brought down three governments since Macron lost his parliamentary majority in a snap election in 2024.
France relied on similar emergency rollover legislation last year until a full 2025 budget was approved in February, a delay the government said cost the state about €12bn.
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France’s 2026 state budget has been adopted by parliament after Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu survived two no-confidence motions, ending months of political stalemate that had paralysed fiscal decision-making.
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