French government faces no-confidence threat by Socialists amid budget talks

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French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu faced a no-confidence threat by the Socialists on Friday if "no significant progress" is achieved on a budget bill by Monday, in particular if it does not include a wealth tax.

“Today, there is indeed a reality: if in the next few hours, roughly until next Monday, there is no significant progress on the text, there will be no room for maneuver on the 2026 finance bill, on the state budget, or on the Social Security budget … it would be over,” Socialists' leader Olivier Faure told broadcaster BFM TV.

Faure, who had previously refused to support a no-confidence vote against Lecornu's government in exchange for having a say in budgetary decisions, hinted at the possibility of a no-confidence motion if the Socialists' demands are not heard.

“We need to target the tech giants, the ultra-rich, inheritances, and especially the super-inheritances,” he said, pointing to taxation of the ultra-rich.

During an interview with the Le Parisien newspaper, Socialists' parliamentary leader Boris Vallaud noted that "anything is possible," when asked about whether the party could submit a no-confidence motion.

"If the central bloc is not capable of passing the Zucman tax — this minimal and essential levy on the very wealthiest — if it cannot pass the wealth tax on billionaires, ... if it cannot ensure fiscal justice, I’m not sure it will be possible to discuss what comes next. The budget debate will end very quickly," said Vallaud.

Following the statements, Lecornu addressed the National Assembly on Friday before debates began on the 2026 state budget.

He assured that the deficit will be reduced from 5.8% in 2024 to 5.4% in 2025, stressing that it “must return to below 5% the following year.”

Lecornu noted that the state intends to recover money from "those who commit fraud or abuse," underlining that "a bill to combat tax and social fraud was submitted."

“The initial budget outlines the first steps toward savings, eliminating certain redundancies and tackling excess costs. Will that be enough? No. We need to go much further, with a medium- and long-term approach,” he stressed.

Lecornu reaffirmed that the government will carry out a "major reform of the state, one of the most significant in recent decades.”

He told members of parliament that the budget “provides for a €6.7 billion (7.8 billion) increase next year in the defense budget alone.”

French lawmakers have 70 days to review the draft finance bill from the time it was submitted on Oct. 14, that is, until Dec. 23.

Months of political turbulence

France is going through a period of government instability, marked by repeated Cabinet collapses and budget standoffs.

Prime Minister Michel Barnier’s center-right government fell last December after losing a confidence vote over the 2025 budget. His successor, Francois Bayrou, faced similar challenges when his controversial 2026 draft budget, which included plans to abolish several public holidays to save €43 billion ($50.1 billion), failed to win parliamentary approval.

Bayrou’s government lost a confidence vote in September, paving the way for President Emmanuel Macron to appoint then-Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu as prime minister on Sept. 9, though he stepped down Oct. 6 after less than a month in office.

Macron reappointed Lecornu on Oct. 10.

Lecornu survived two no-confidence votes in a row on Oct. 16 submitted by the far-left France Unbowed (LFI) party and the far-right National Rally (RN).

Faure, who signaled the Socialists could file a separate no-confidence motion, said that the party would not censure the government "as long as parliament is respected."

The center-left party’s stance came after Lecornu announced he would suspend implementation of controversial pension reforms until the next presidential election, responding to a key demand from the opposition left.

The pension reforms, pushed through in 2023 under then-Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne and defended by successive governments, seek to gradually raise the retirement age from 62 to 64, triggering one of the longest waves of strikes in decades.