Overview
- The National Assembly rejected two no-confidence motions, with 269 votes for a left-backed bid and 142 for a far-right bid, both short of the 288 needed.
- After the failed motions, the revenue component of the 2026 budget stands, with spending and the overall budget to be advanced next under Article 49.3.
- Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu plans three 49.3 invocations in total for revenue, spending, and the full budget, with final adoption expected in early February.
- Lecornu defended reversing his prior pledge not to use 49.3 as a last-resort step following more than 350 hours of parliamentary debate.
- To secure Socialist non-support, the government pledged to keep a special tax on large companies and maintain €1 subsidized student meals, while emphasizing deficit reduction under record debt of about 117% of GDP.