A joint committee of French lawmakers on Friday failed to reach a compromise on the state budget for next year, parliamentary sources said, making it unlikely France would have a full 2026 budget by year end. The 2025 budget is now likely to be carried over into the new year as debates continue in both chambers. In a win for Lecornu, lawmakers on Tuesday narrowly adopted the social security budget. If France kept its 2025 budget into next year, it would lead the country to a "deficit far higher than desired", he told France Inter radio. Political gridlock also delayed adoption of France's 2025 budget, with a spending plan approved in February after then-prime minister François Bayrou forced it through the lower house.

Source: The Local December 19, 2025 10:06 UTC