The head of Renaissance, Gabriel Attal, at the Assemblée Nationale on January 13, 2026. JULIEN MUGUET FOR LE MONDE
Like many French lawmakers, Gabriel Attal is eager to move on from the budget battle. In recent months, the former prime minister – now leader of President Emmanuel Macron's centrist party, Renaissance – has been compelled by his position to show solidarity with the government, despite his reservations about the strategy adopted by the current prime minister, Sébastien Lecornu. But as the standoff drew to a close, Attal could not hide his frustration. In an interview with Le Parisien on January 17, he denounced the "pathetic spectacle and the total lack of direction (…) the result of the political situation created by the dissolution [of the Assemblée Nationale in June 2024]. Once again."
It was not the first time Attal pointed fingers at the president, with whom he cut ties after the backfiring dissolution. The day after Lecornu abandoned his promise not to invoke Article 49.3 of the Constitution to pass the budget without a vote, Attal went even further during his parliamentary group's meeting: "This use of Article 49.3 on a budget that no one wants marks the end of the five-year term. We need to start looking at what comes after."
