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Lecornu Rules Out 49.3 as Assembly Nears Decisive Revenues Vote on France’s Social‑Security Budget

The prime minister cleared his schedule to press for a cross‑party deal, with a rejection seen as risking a €30 billion Sécu deficit.

Overview

  • Deputies continue the second reading with a potential vote on the revenues section as early as Thursday or Friday, a defeat that would topple the entire PLFSS and imperil adoption before 31 December, with the final solemn vote still slated for 9 December.
  • Sébastien Lecornu reaffirmed there will be no use of Article 49.3, despite public appeals from Édouard Philippe, Gérard Larcher and Bruno Retailleau to deploy it; Assembly president Yaël Braun‑Pivet backed proceeding by vote and compromise.
  • Key bargaining points include reinstating suspension of the 2023 pension reform, a higher CSG on capital income opposed by LR and Horizons but championed by the PS, and government plans to double medical patient franchises by decree.
  • As an alternative to the CSG rise, discussion has surfaced over freezing part of pension revaluation above about €1,400 as voted by the Senate, a move rejected by Socialists and Greens and questioned by some LR figures.
  • With RN and LFI set against the bill, passage likely hinges on PS votes and left‑wing abstentions while Horizons and LR weigh abstention or opposition; Lecornu also asked the Sécurité sociale to map operational and legal contingencies to maintain reimbursements if the budget fails.