French PM forces budget through parliament after two no-confidence vote

French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu on Friday invoked a special constitutional mechanism to force through the budget for 2026 after surviving two no-confidence votes over his previous attempt to break the impasse and pass the bill.

Lecornu said he was triggering Article 49.3 of the Constitution ​to ‍force through parliament the ​expenditure part of the 2026 ​budget bill, a move that will likely trigger further votes of no confidence.

He had sought to make concessions in the spending bill to please the Socialists, a key swing group in the hung parliament, in order to survive the votes to oust him. Among the concessions was his agreement that a pension reform would not be implemented until after the 2027 presidential elections.