2027 budget: Assemblée rejects revenue section by 458 votes to none
Every group voted against the revenue section on Wednesday, taking down the entire draft state budget. The bill goes to the Senate in its original version, and the government is putting off any compromise until December.
The verdict is unequivocal. On Wednesday 4 November, the Assemblée nationale, France's lower house, rejected the revenue section of the draft state budget for 2027: 458 votes against, none in favour, with two abstentions in the communist and overseas territories group, according to France 24.
This vote takes down the whole bill at first reading. MPs will not examine the spending section in the chamber. The Senate will receive the government's original version, without any of the amendments passed since 13 October.
Everyone against, for opposite reasons
Nobody was defending the version that emerged from the debates any more. Laurent Marcangeli (Horizons) said the text had been completely distorted, as quoted by France 24. For Éric Coquerel (LFI), chair of the Finance Committee, the budget fails by worsening the very thing it is supposed to improve: the deficit. Jean-Philippe Tanguy (RN) accuses the executive of being incapable of putting the public accounts in order.
Public Accounts Minister David Amiel regrets votes that would have pushed the deficit up to 5.9% of GDP. The original bill targets 5% in 2027, compared with 5.4% expected this year, thanks to around €43 billion in savings. Several MPs and the minister believe this trajectory may already be obsolete, with growth weaker than hoped, France 24 reports.
Compromise put off until December
Matignon, the Prime Minister's office, stands by the timetable, saying the time for compromise will have to come after the reading in the Senate, according to France 24. David Amiel urged parliamentarians not to let themselves be hypnotised by the presidential election, according to Euronews.
The timetable set out by LCP is tight:
- 9 to 18 November: the Social Security budget in the Senate. Its revenue section had already been rejected by MPs on 23 October.
- 20 November to 9 December: the state budget in the Senate.
- Then: a joint committee of seven MPs and seven senators. An agreement there is considered unlikely given the balance of power in the Assemblée.
Three ways out
Article 49.3. The government can negotiate a non-censure pact, as it did with the Socialists for the 2026 budget, then stake its survival on the bill. If a motion of no confidence passes, the government falls and the bill is rejected.
Ordinances. These become possible once the constitutional deadlines expire, on 26 November for Social Security and 17 December for the state budget. It would be a first. Passing these dates does not trigger any automatic adoption, L'Express points out.
The special law. It would extend the 2026 budget pending the presidential election and possible legislative elections, LCP notes.
What next?
The ball is now in the Senate's court. The government still has to find a majority or choose one of these procedures, against the backdrop of a cross-sector strike on Thursday.
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