France’s parliament has approved an emergency bill to keep public services running after 2026 budget talks collapsed, raising pressure on President Emmanuel Macron’s minority government to avoid a deeper fiscal crisis
Facing the risk of a government shutdown similar to those seen in the US, France’s divided parliament on Tuesday approved an emergency bill to keep public services operating, after negotiations on the 2026 budget collapsed.
With only days remaining before the new year, President Emmanuel Macron and his Cabinet met late on Monday to present the short draft legislation. The bill is intended “to ensure the continuity of national life and the functioning of public services”, the Cabinet said, allowing the state to collect taxes and redistribute them to local authorities based on tax and spending levels set out in the 2025 budget.
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Lawmakers in the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, introduced several amendments before approving the bill on Tuesday evening. The Senate later followed suit. The measure passed despite sharp divisions between the three main political blocs: Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally, left-wing parties, and Macron’s centrist minority government.
Pressure builds for full 2026 budgetAttention now turns to the more difficult task of agreeing on a full 2026 budget and avoiding another political crisis. Finance Minister Roland Lescure likened the emergency law to “a spare tire”, warning lawmakers that relying on it for too long “risks greatly weakening the French economy”.
Macron is seeking to cut France’s large deficit to 5% of economic output, or GDP, and restore investor confidence following prolonged political deadlock triggered by his decision to call snap elections last year. France’s finances remain strained by high public spending on social welfare programmes, health care and education, alongside a heavy tax burden that does not fully cover costs.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, who resigned and was reappointed this autumn, urged all parties on Tuesday to work through the holidays to reach compromises on the 2026 budget after earlier talks collapsed last week. His minority government secured some relief earlier this month when parliament narrowly approved a key health care budget bill, but only after suspending Macron’s flagship pension reform to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64.
