PARIS (Realist English). French Prime Minister François Bayrou said on Monday he would put his deficit-reduction plan to a confidence vote in parliament on 8 September, a surprise move that could end his premiership as criticism from both left and right intensifies.
Bayrou announced that the extraordinary session of parliament would force lawmakers to take a position on what he called “urgent and indispensable” measures to repair France’s public finances. “If no agreement is possible, then I consider that action is impossible and unattainable,” he told reporters. “If you have a majority, the government is confirmed. If you don’t have a majority, the government falls.”
France’s deficit reached 5.8% of GDP last year. To address the gap, Bayrou last month unveiled a package of €44bn in tax increases and spending cuts for 2026. The plan includes eliminating two national holidays, freezing pension and welfare benefit increases for a year, and introducing a “solidarity contribution” from wealthy citizens.
Opposition parties denounced the proposals as an austerity budget that would disproportionately hurt the poor, retirees and workers. Both left-wing parties and Marine Le Pen’s far-right Rassemblement National have threatened to topple the government.
The vote carries echoes of last year, when former prime minister Michel Barnier was ousted after a no-confidence motion over similar spending cuts. Until now, Bayrou was expected to invoke constitutional powers to bypass parliament in the autumn, a move that would also have triggered a confidence vote.
Bayrou warned of the mounting burden of debt repayment, which he said will rise from €60bn in 2024 to €66bn in 2025. “The weight of debt will this year become the nation’s most significant budget item,” he said, surpassing spending on defence and education.
