PARIS: French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu on Friday inched closer to forcing his budget bill through parliament without a vote while desperately seeking a way to avoid being toppled by parliament as a result.
The eurozone’s second-largest economy has been bogged down in political crisis since President Emmanuel Macron called a snap poll in 2024, in which he lost his parliamentary majority.
In a bid to survive being toppled by parliament like his two predecessors, Lecornu last year pledged to seek parliament approval for a 2026 austerity budget — and not ram it through without a vote.
He managed to get a bill on social security spending approved by year end but lawmakers have failed to reach a compromise on state expenses.
The center-right government said late on Thursday it would be “impossible to adopt a budget by a vote” and that it had given itself until Tuesday to examine two alternative options.
