Amélie de Montchalin, France's minister responsible for Public Accounts, during the review and vote on the special budget bill at the Sénat in Paris, December 23, 2025. STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN/AFP
It's unlikely that this New Year's Eve was a cheerful occasion for France's public administrators. As soon as the clock struck midnight, they faced a period of spending restrictions intended to ensure the continuity of the French state. Following the enactment of the special budget law, the government of Prime Minister Sébastian Lecornu government adopted, on Tuesday, December 30, the so-called "voted services" decree. This measure, pending the adoption of a proper budget, will make funds available to ministries so they can operate from January 1, 2026 – but only at a minimal level. That period begins now.
The decree renews the funds authorized in 2025. It amounts to a significant constraint –essentially a "blank year" for the French state. However, not all of the budget can be used. "These voted services should not be understood as authorization to spend all the funds allocated in 2025, but rather as permission to use only those funds strictly necessary to maintain public services," Lecornu explained in a circular setting out the conditions for their use.
