Following the collapse of discussions on a 2026 budget, France's divided parliament is debating an emergency bill on Tuesday that aims to prevent a government shutdown akin to that of the United States next week.
President Emmanuel Macron and his Cabinet convened on Monday night to deliver the brief draft bill, with only a few days remaining before the new year.
According to the Cabinet, it seeks to guarantee the continuation of national life and the operation of public services, including the collection of taxes and their distribution to local authorities in accordance with tax and spending levels in the 2025 budget.
The National Assembly, the powerful lower house of the French parliament, amended the bill in a number of ways and is scheduled to vote on it late Tuesday.
The Senate will then follow. Despite severe differences between the three main factions in the assembly Macron's centrist minority administration, left-wing forces, and Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally it is expected to succeed.
Creating a real budget for 2026 and preventing another political crisis will be more difficult. Following years of political impasse and unrest brought on by his disastrous decision to call early elections last year, Macron is keen to reduce the massive deficit to 5% and restore investor confidence in France's economy.
"We need a budget as fast as possible so that we can move on," Finance Minister Roland Lescure stated on BFM television on Tuesday.
"The longer (the temporary budget) lasts, the more it costs." Generous social assistance programs, health care, and education are the main drivers of France's high level of public spending, which is not adequately covered by the country's high tax burden.
Later on Tuesday, Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu who resigned before being reappointed this fall is anticipated to address the public regarding the state of the budget.
Earlier this month, a crucial health care budget package was narrowly approved by parliament, providing respite to Lecornu's minority administration.
However, this came at the expense of Macron's major pension reform, which would have raised the retirement age from 62 to 64.
