French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said Monday he will trigger Article 49.3 of the Constitution to push the 2026 budget through Parliament without a vote.
Lecornu had originally pledged in October that he would not invoke Article 49.3.
If used, Article 49.3 could be invoked from Tuesday on the revenue section of the draft budget bill, then again days later on spending, before the text moves to the Senate and returns to the assembly for a final use of the measure.
Article 49.3 allows Lecornu to bypass a vote in the National Assembly on the budget, provided he survives a no-confidence motion. If, however, he fails to survive the motion of no-confidence, the law gets rejected and the government collapses.
Provided that Lecornu withstands the no-confidence motions throughout the process, a final budget could be passed around mid-February.
Lecornu had previously pledged not to use Article 49.3 to force the budget through, granting lawmakers unusual freedom to reshape the bill but also raising the risk of legislative deadlock.
