French PM Sebastien Lecornu Wins Key 2026 Budget Vote

Sun Dec 21 2025 18:57:04 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

In a nail-biting parliamentary showdown, France's Prime Minister secured a pivotal budget vote, allowing the country to navigate financial challenges ahead.

Sebastien Lecornu, the French Prime Minister, narrowly passed a crucial budget bill for 2026 amid a divided parliament. This victory is a significant step forward for the government's fiscal plans, as failing to secure majority support could have severely weakened his position ahead of future budget votes. Despite the political maneuvering, Lecornu faces challenges from both sides of the political spectrum but remains determined to guide France through its budgetary hurdles.

French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu narrowly survived a crucial test on Tuesday as the country's divided parliament voted in favour of a 2026 budget bill.

If Lecornu had failed to win a majority in the National Assembly for his social security budget, it would have gravely weakened his hand ahead of the main budget vote, due by the end of the year.

But in the end, the bill passed by 247 votes to 234. It will now go back to the Senate before returning for a final reading in the Assembly.

It's a good sign that a majority has been found. The immense likelihood now is that the social security budget will be adopted definitively, Assembly speaker Yael Braun-Pivet stated.

Appointed in September by President Emmanuel Macron, Lecornu has dedicated himself to navigating the 2026 budget legislation through both chambers of parliament. Since snap elections called by Macron in June 2024, the National Assembly has been split into three roughly equal blocs - centre, left, and far-right - none of which commands a majority.

Lecornu is Macron's fourth prime minister since then, succeeding Michel Barnier and François Bayrou, who were both ousted after failing to manage France's rising debt. Barnier resigned exactly a year ago after his social security budget failed.

There are two types of budget laws in France: one for social security, which includes hospitals and pensions, and a principal budget covering other areas like defence and education. For years, both have operated at large deficits.

Recognized for his diligence, Lecornu needed to convince deputies from 11 different parliamentary groups that failing to pass budgets would worsen the country's financial crisis.

He specifically targeted the Socialist Party, which holds around 70 seats and has uneasy ties with the far-left France Unbowed party.

In a bid to win over the Socialists, Lecornu offered to suspend a key reform increasing the retirement age to 64 and promised not to use a government power that allows passing budget laws without a vote.

The Socialist leaders supported Lecornu's budget, while some in his own camp criticized the concessions made to the left. Former prime minister Edouard Philippe claimed the bill did little to improve the dire public accounts, while conservative leader Bruno Retailleau called it a fiscal hold-up.

With uncertainty looming over the main budget vote later this year, Tuesday's result was seen as a win for Lecornu's approach, characterized by his quest for bipartisan support.