FRANCE: Opposition Criticise Budget After PM Outlines 2026 Proposals

Opposition politicians have been lining up to criticise the budget proposals announced by PM Francois Bayrou on 15 July. There is a strong likelihood that, given the gov'ts minority status, Bayrou will have to push the budget through using Article 49.3 of the French constitution in order to avoid a vote. 

• Budget rapporteur for the National Assembly, Charles de Courson, said that he would not vote in favour of the proposals, arguing the measures fall too harshly on workers without businesses being asked to contribute. De Courson said the Liberties, Independents, Overseas and Territories (LIOT) group would meet later this morning to discuss the budget, but "I would be surprised if many of our colleagues voted for this type of proposal," and that "We will discuss whether to vote for the motion of censure."
• Sebastien Chenu, vice-president of the right-wing Rassemblement National (National Rally, RN), told FranceInfo that "Francois Bayrou, with this kind of proposal, will face a full-blown censure," calling the budget a "stab in the social contract."
• Speaking to BFM-TV on the evening of 15 July, First Secretary of the Socialist Party (PS) Olivier Faure said that "on the current basis, the only possible perspective is censorship". Support from the PS would likely prove one of the only paths for the budget passing in the National Assembly. Former President, now PS Deputy Francois Hollande, is believed to oppose Bayrou's censure, arguing that the PS should focus on the 2027 elections instead.