France's Prime ‍Minister Sebastien Lecornu ​made use of ‌a ​special constitutional power on Friday (January 30, 2026) to force his 2026 budget bill through the ​deeply divided Lower House ⁠of Parliament without a vote, a ​move ⁠that will likely trigger further votes of no confidence. “France must have a budget. And so, before this chamber, I am committing the government’s responsibility for the entire Finance Bill for 2026,” he told the National Assembly while invoking a constitutional power to avoid a vote on the bill. Mr. Lecornu has already endured a string of no-confidence votes as he pushed the first sections of the 2026 state budget through Parliament without a vote, after negotiations reached an impasse. Mr. Lecornu ‌had already ‌invoked Article 49.3 of ‍the Constitution on the income side ‍as well as on the expenditure side of the legislation to get it through ⁠the Lower House, where ​it had become deadlocked ⁠after three months of discussions.

Source: The Hindu January 30, 2026 11:09 UTC