Paris (France) (AFP) - French lawmakers on Wednesday rejected the draft state budget for 2027 in its first reading, prolonging the political impasse in light of concerns about the country's public finances, a few months before the presidential elections.

Published on: 05/11/2026 - 09:43

With 458 deputies voting against the project and zero in favor (with two deputies abstaining from voting), all political blocs, including those supporting the government, rejected the “revenues” section in the draft budget, amid a tense social and economic climate.

At the end of about ten days of discussions, opposition representatives expressed their rejection of the government’s options, while the government’s allies expressed their regret that the text had been completely stripped of its essence.

This development is a new chapter in the series of difficulties facing approval of the budget within a National Assembly that lacks a clear majority, since French President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to dissolve Parliament in 2024. According to this result, the draft budget in its original text will be referred to the Senate, where it will be put up for discussion starting on November 20.

In an attempt to calm the atmosphere, the Prime Minister's Office indicated that "the time for settlement will come later," postponing the possibility of reaching an agreement that combines the government's vision with that of the Senate, until December, or until the stage in which the text will return again to the National Assembly to be read again.

The National Assembly made substantial cuts in the last budget of Emmanuel Macron's term, a budget that aimed to reduce the public deficit to 5% of GDP by 2027, compared to the 5.4% expected this year. France currently has one of the highest debt and deficit rates in Europe.

Representatives canceled austerity measures that aimed to reduce tax exemptions granted to retirees or reduce allocations to local authorities, and the additional tax imposed on large companies was also cancelled.

These discussions took place in light of negative economic indicators, as the gross domestic product witnessed a new decline of 0.1% during the third quarter of the year.

© 2026 AFP

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