French opposition parties raise spectre of no-confidence vote over 2026 budget

By Makini Brice and Elizabeth Pineau

PARIS (Reuters) -French opposition parties on Monday threatened to topple Prime Minister Francois Bayrou's government with a no-confidence motion after his finance minister said next year's budget would require billions of euros in savings.

A vote on the 2026 budget is not due until the end of this year, but the subject is already testing the staying power of the government of Bayrou, who came to office in December after clashes over the 2025 budget brought down predecessor, Michel Barnier.

Finance Minister Eric Lombard said in an interview with BFM TV on Sunday that a plan to lower the budget deficit to 4.6% of economic output in 2026 from 5.4% this year would require savings of 40 billion euros.

Bayrou, who has survived other no-confidence votes, is due to make a budget speech on Tuesday, in which he is expected to outline the bruising austerity measures on the horizon.

Arthur Delaporte, a Socialist lawmaker and a party spokesperson, stopped short of saying the party would back a no-confidence vote but urged the government to heed the lessons of Barnier, whose efforts to pass a belt-tightening 2025 budget led to his ousting.

Bayrou was only able to pass the 2025 budget after making significant concessions to the Socialists, who have the power to play a decisive role in bringing down his government if they were to join forces with far-left and far-right parties.

"This government does not have a majority to adopt such an austerity budget," Delaporte told Reuters. "We always said it, that this government is under the surveillance of Socialist lawmakers and we will not accept a budget filled with social cuts and that does not involve those who can contribute the most."

Sebastien Chenu, a lawmaker and senior figure in the main far-right National Rally, told Europe 1/CNews on Monday that the group would vote to topple the government if it imposes deep cuts on ordinary people.

"While constructing a budget that asks of French people to tighten their belts ... that exposes them to a no-confidence motion from us," Chenu said.

Manuel Bompard, national coordinator for the far left France Unbowed party, said it was ready to propose a no-confidence motion, but only if the entire left would support it.

The far left and far right do not have enough votes to topple the government without support from other leftist parties.

(Reporting by Makini Brice and Elizabeth Pineau; Editing by Peter Graff and Bernadette Baum)