Prime Minister to force 2026 budget through without a vote

French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu confirmed he would attempt to use the controversial Article 49.3 to pass France’s 2026 budget without a vote. 

He made the announcement following a meeting with his Ministerial Council before a televised address on January 19

The article would be used to pass a revised and slimmed-down version of the budget after it failed to pass in 2025, limiting several measures. 

It has also been revised and seen several new additions in an attempt to win the backing – or at least the promise not to support any votes of no confidence against the prime minister – from the Socialist Party.

It comes after several months of discussions on the budget failed to find a majority of MPs to back the measure in parliament. 

Budget set to pass as PM turns back on promise

When announcing the original budget in 2025, Mr Lecornu promised not to use Article 49.3, a controversial measure which allows the government to pass bills without a vote in parliament (you can read more about the measure here).

Mr Lecornu said this was a gesture of goodwill and openness as he aimed to promote dialogue and amendments to the final bill, seeking a passage through the chamber via a majority vote.

This was partially successful, as his government managed to pass the Social Security version of the text with Socialist Party backing. 

However, disagreements over the main text persisted and led to the eventual collapse of the bill in December 2025, which needed to be discussed again at the start of the year.

Use of Article 49.3 opens the government up to the possibility of a vote of no confidence, which requires an absolute majority of MPs to back and can instantly topple the government.

In December 2024, then-Prime Minister Michel Barnier was ousted after attempting to use the method to pass his budget through a divided Assemblée nationale.

As MPs were still failing to reach consensus on the matter on the 2026 budget at the start of this year, Mr Lecornu felt he was left with little choice but to employ the method.

Votes of no confidence unlikely to pass

Both the far-left La France Insoumise and far-right Rassemblement National have confirmed they will file motions of no confidence against the prime minister following the announcement.

However, the Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure announced that MPs would be ordered not to back any votes attempting to oust the prime minister. 

This makes the votes unlikely to pass as unless the extreme groups can convince Socialist Party members or the government’s own MPs to break ranks, they will be unable to find a majority backing.

Right-wing MPs in Les Républicains are said to be unsatisfied with the budget in its current state following concessions to the Socialist Party.

They may opt to back the motions - although this is far from assured - and even with their support would still require MPs from other groups to back the motion. 

One alternative Mr Lecornu could have used is the power of ‘executive order’, which makes it possible to pass bills that remain stalled after at least 70 days of debate. 

However, this has never been done before for a text as important as the budget, and could set a precedent for future iterations of the bill. 

If executive order was used, the bill would pass the bill in its original October 2025 state, without any of the amendments debated by MPs or Senators, but almost certainly lead to MPs voting to topple the prime minister through a motion de censure alongside questions of authoritarianism by the Macronist government.