French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou said he is ready to force his government’s budget through without a vote in parliament using a controversial constitutional mechanism, which would trigger a motion of no-confidence from the left. The Socialists and the far-right National Rally have not yet indicated whether or not they would support the motion.
Without a parliamentary majority, Bayrou and his government are unlikely to get enough votes to get a new draft of the 2025 budget passed through the National Assembly.
The assembly is set to examine Monday a new text that was drawn up by a joint committee of deputies and senators.
Bayrou has vowed to move forward with the budget anyway, which means he would invoke article 49.3 of the constitution, which previous Prime Ministers have done, to force it through.
"A country like ours cannot remain without a budget," he told the Sunday newspaper La Tribune Dimanche. "The only way is to hold the government responsible. This will be done this Monday."
Bayrou's predecessor, Michel Barnier, was forced out after only three months in office in a no-confidence vote in December after using the same mechanism.
The hard left France Unbowed has said it would file a motion of no confidence motion against Bayrou as early as Wednesday, if he invokes article 49.3.
It will be the second such vote he faces in a month.
The communist and green members of the assembly are likely to back it, but the Socialists have not yet committed, and the motion would also need backing from the far-right National Rally.
Boris Vallaud, president of the socialists' parliamentary group, told Ouest France that the party had not yet reached a position.
The Socialists broke off talks with Baryou and his government last week after he referred to migrants "flooding" France, which they said was terminology used by the far right.
The National Rally has said it will make its position clear at the beginning of the week.
(with AFP)
