CashNews.co
Opposing budget is only constitutional way to protect public from ‘punitive’ measures, Le Pen says
Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Rally (RN), has said that backing a no-confidence motion to oust Michel Barnier as prime minister is the only constitutional way to protect the French public from a “dangerous, unjust and punitive budget”.
In a post on X, she wrote:
In all the most outlandish and ridiculous explanations heard this morning in the media about the reasons that push us to choose censorship, one is missing.
Precisely, the one and only one that guided our choice: censoring this budget is, unfortunately, the only way the constitution gives us to protect the French from a dangerous, unjust and punitive budget which, moreover, worsens the already monstrous deficits of seven years of Macronism.
Together, the New Popular Front (NFP), a leftwing coalition that includes the Socialists, Greens, and the RN have enough MPs to topple the government. Two no-confidence motions will be put forward, including one by the far right that is unlikely to pass, but with the one proposed by the hard-left set to go through with backing from Le Pen’s RN lawmakers.
Over the weekend, Le Pen demanded that Barnier make further budget concessions to avoid a no confidence motion. Barnier had already dropped a planned electricity tax increase, but the RN also wanted him to raise pensions in line with inflation. Barnier made some concessions but not enough, in the eyes of Le Pen, who accused the former Brexit negotiator of not keeping his promise to listen to political groups opposed to the budget bill.
Key events
We’re closing this blog now.
Barnier has just finished an interview with the French media this evening. Here’s a summary of the key points he made. He:
-
Rejected the idea that President Emmanuel Macron should resign to unblock the country’s political crisis, calling him the guarantor of stability.
-
Said he remained open to budget talks with the far-right National Rally and other parties.
-
Felt the budget had been the subject of work “for weeks and weeks”, adding that “it is not for pleasure that I present such a difficult budget.”
-
Warned that French people will the impact of instability “immediately” in interest rates.
-
Said that if a motion of censure succeeds, and no budget is adopted for 2025, nearly 18 millions French people will inevitably see their income taxes increase and others will pay it for the first time.
-
And said he sees “a lot of tension” in France and “a lot of anger” which we must “be careful of”.
That’s it from me, Donna Ferguson. Thanks for following along.
Barnier rejected the idea that President Emmanuel Macron should resign to unblock the country’s political crisis, calling him the guarantor of stability.
He also called for “respect” in politics and said there was “no glitch” in the negotiations with other politicians to come up with the 2025 budget.
He added: “The moment is serious, it is difficult, but the stakes are not impossible.”
He then ended his interview.
Barnier has warned that French people will the impact of instability “immediately” in interest rates.
He said he sees “a lot of tension in our country” and “a lot of anger” which we must “be careful of”.
If a motion of censure succeeds, and no budget is adopted for 2025, he said that nearly 18 millions French people will inevitably see their income taxes increase and others will pay it for the first time.
This is “because we will not have been able to include in the finance law the reindexation that is planned for the scaling of tax brackets,” he said.
Barnier has said he doesn’t negotiate with Marine Le Pen and her National Rally party, but he did listen.
“I don’t negotiate, I listened,” he reportedly said, and added that he had held discussions with everyone, including those on the left.
He said: “When I arrived in this office, I naturally called my political friends. Those who agreed to support the government. I mentioned them. And in the hour that followed, I called two or three leaders of the Socialist Party, notably Mr. Faure and Mr. Vallaud. And what did they each tell me? They told me: “We don’t want to see you now. In any case, we’re voting for censure,” before I opened my mouth.”
Prime minister Barnier has defended his 2025 budget, saying it has been the subject of work “for weeks and weeks”.
“It is not for pleasure that I present such a difficult budget,” he said.
Barnier has said that he thinks the text of the bill could be improved: “I have always said that this text could be improved, that it was not final and that we have improved it”.”
He added: “We listened to everyone and we have made progress on many points. Just yesterday morning, on the delisting of medications, I clarified things to say that there would be no delisting.”
The prime minister said that the situation is complicated, because there is no majority: “I know that it is a fragile and ephemeral situation,” he said, before continuing: “The gilding that is around us, the official cars, the gold of the Republic, I don’t care.”
He added: “What is happening goes far beyond my sole condition.”
He said the “motion of censure is not a vote for or against Barnier … it is a vote on a text” – in this case the Social Security financing bill. The French “feel that there should be no chaos”, he said, according to Le Monde.
Michel Barnier has said thinks it is “possible” that his government will not be censured in tomorrow’s vote.
Interviewed on TF1 and France 2, prime minister Barnier said he considered it “possible” that his government would not be censured tomorrow. “It depends on the deputies, each of whom has a share of responsibility before the French people,” he said, according to Le Monde.
French prime minister Michel Barnier to speak in television interview as government faces no confidence vote on Wednesday
The French prime minister Michel Barnier, is facing a near-certain defeat in a no-confidence vote on Wednesday. He is due to speak to the media at 7pm GMT.
If the vote is carried, it will be the first time that a French administration has been ousted with a motion of no confidence since 1962.
Two separate no-confidence motions have been tabled, by the far-left and far-right opposition. The one by the far right is unlikely to pass, but the one proposed by the hard-left is set to go through with backing from Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN) lawmakers.
The crisis erupted when Barnier said he would push through the social security component of his 2025 budget without a parliamentary vote.
The constitutional measure that allows him to do this is known as article 49.3. It gives MPs the opportunity to challenge the government’s move through a no-confidence motion, that must be voted on within 48 hours.
If the motion passes, Barnier and his government are out.
Summary of the day so far…
-
France’s centre-right prime minister, Michel Barnier, has told parliament that he will push the government’s proposed social security budget through without a vote. It means the government will face a vote of confidence from opposition parties, reported to take place tomorrow afternoon.
-
The far-left France Unbowed (LFI) opposition party said it would bring a no-confidence motion after Barnier. Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN), which has demanded changes in the 2025 budget, said it would back the move.
-
Le Pen, who has been embroiled in a high-profile embezzlement trial, said that backing a no-confidence motion is the only constitutional way to protect the French public from a “dangerous, unjust and punitive budget”. She added that a motion of censure “is not a coalition or a political agreement”.
-
If Barnier loses the vote, he will probably stay in power in a caretaker capacity while the country’s president, Emmanuel Macron, tries to find a replacement, but there is a range of other possibilities. The French President is in Saudi Arabia on a diplomatic visit.
We are pausing this blog now, but will restart it at 7pm (GMT) when Barnier is expected to address the media. In the meantime, you can read all of our coverage about France here.
Why have French sovereign borrowing costs risen to highest premium in over a decade?
Richard Partington
Richard Partington is the Guardian’s economics correspondent
French sovereign borrowing costs have soared to the highest premium since the eurozone debt crisis amid political turmoil as the government faces the risk of collapse over a planned austerity budget.
The gap between French 10-year government bond yields and their German equivalent ballooned to as much as 90 basis points last week, the widest level in 12 years, while shares listed on the Paris stock exchange also tumbled…
The widening of the gap – or spread – between French and German government bonds represents investors demanding a higher premium for the additional risk of holding the debt.
The spread was last wider in 2012, during the height of the eurozone sovereign debt crisis when fears over a Greek default roiled financial markets.
Barnier’s belt-tightening plans come with France’s budget deficit poised to exceed 6% of GDP this year, more than double the EU target.
Under the EU’s so-called stability and growth pact deficits are limited to 3% of GDP and national debt to 60%, although several eurozone member states currently break the rule.
Brussels has placed France under an “excessive deficit” monitoring process alongside seven other member states, including Belgium, Italy and Poland.
You can read the full story here:
French President Emmanuel Macron, on a visit to Saudi Arabia, has appeared to be mostly a spectator in the political crisis he caused by ordering snap elections over the summer, prompting many people to question if he should consider resigning.
In a poll published on Monday, 52% of French people said they favoured Macron resigning, but were above all concerned about their purchasing power.
“I’m very worried and very upset with the forces on the left and the forces on the far right,” Bertrand Chenu, a 65-year-old retiree, told Agence France-Presse (AFP) in Paris.
Another Parisian, Janine Revel, also blamed politicians. “All the party leaders are useless,” she said. “They only think of themselves.”
If the government falls, it would be the first successful no-confidence vote since a defeat for Georges Pompidou’s government in 1962, when Charles de Gaulle was president.
The lifespan of Barnier’s government would also be the shortest of any administration of France’s fifth republic which began in 1958.
As we have been reporting, the left wing opposition party, La France Insoumise (LFI), known as France Unbowed, and Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN) said they would table no-confidence votes. It means that the Barnier government is likely to fall tomorrow. Éric Coquerel, a leading figure in LFI and chairman of the finance committee of the national assembly, has said the only viable option is for the left to unite and back a New Popular Front (NFP) government in the event Barnier loses the no confidence vote.
According to Le Figaro, Coquerel, who is urging the Socialists to support a possible NPF option, told the press at the National Assembly:
If we want to have a chance of there being a left-wing government, we must all hit the same nail.
If we start to propose options, different solutions we can clearly see that we are making Emmanuel Macron’s job easier by not appointing a left-wing government.
The only thing that can unite us is to continue to demand a government that carries the program of the New Popular Front.