France’s Socialists demanded major budget concessions yesterday in exchange for their support of President Emmanuel Macron‘s fifth and latest Prime Minister, Sebastien Lecornu. The new PM’s ability to hold onto office and enact legislation is dependent on the support of rival parties in a parliament sharply divided between three ideological factions.
PM Lecornu has been meeting with party leaders across the political spectrum to try to get the necessary support from the fragmented legislature to deliver his 2026 spending plans.
More or less marginalised since Macron’s initial election in 2017, the Socialist Party now finds itself in a position to help determine how the rest of the president’s second term unfolds. Party leader Olivier Faure, who had vowed to seek “an end to harsh budget cuts” along with “fair contributions from the wealthiest” plus “increased purchasing power”, said the new Prime Minister had yet to indicate how he planned to proceed. However, Faure did warn that if Lecornu was “not willing to listen to us, we’ll censure him.”
Lecornu faces major challenges if he is to preserve Macron’s legacy and keep the conservative Republicans on board. His predecessor, Prime Minister François Bayrou, was ousted from office over plans for a 44-billion-euro budget squeeze.
France faces huge pressure to lower its budget deficit – almost double the European Union’s permitted 3% ceiling — and a debt amounting to 114% of GDP.
An opinion poll published this week showed 66% of respondents in favour of suspending President Macron’s controversial pension scheme reform, while 86% supported the Socialist call for a new wealth tax.
Should the Socialists press too hard, however, they could exacerbate France’s political crisis, leaving Macron no option but to call snap parliamentary elections. Current opinion polls suggest this might not be in the left’s best interests.
Socialist MP Philippe Brun maintains the party is open to compromise because, like France’s other political parties, it too lacks a parliamentary majority.
According to France’s Interior Ministry, up to 800,000 are expected to join nationwide protests today, spurred on by unions and left-wing groups calling for action on the budget as well as on wages, pensions, and public services.
