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French Government Seeks January Budget Deal, Puts Big-Firm Surtax Back on the Table

Ministers will meet parliamentary groups, excluding RN and LFI, to end costly reliance on a provisional financing law.

Overview

  • Finance committee work resumes on 8–9 January with a return to the Assembly floor on 13 January, and officials insist a state budget will be passed this month.
  • Economy minister Roland Lescure is pushing to reintroduce a surtax on profits of very large companies that could raise about €6 billion toward a 2026 deficit cap of 5% of GDP and a roughly €10 billion gap to close.
  • Matignon has not ruled out reviving Socialist senator Patrick Kanner’s mandatory zero‑interest loan for the wealthiest taxpayers, according to reporting used as a bargaining option with the left.
  • Talks will exclude RN and LFI, the Socialist Party is pressing for roughly €10 billion in extra revenue mainly via tax rises, and 49.3 remains a contingency if no agreement is reached.
  • Operating under a temporary law is already delaying investments in areas such as defense and costing the state billions, and the government says it wants a swift budget to pivot to a first‑quarter public‑order and security agenda.