PARIS (Reuters) -French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said on Monday the government goal remained to have a budget for 2026 by the end of this year despite tensions in parliament.
Lecornu was speaking after French lower house rejected parts of the 2026 budget bill on Saturday, leaving open whether the politically fragmented parliament, under pressure from investors to reduce a budget deficit, can strike a deal before the end of the year.
“This is an alert for the future… but yes we can do it (getting a budget),” Lecornu said, adding there was still a majority in parliament to vote a budget bill.
After the rejection of the income part of the budget – which deals with taxation – the bill now heads to the Senate, which is expected to strip out many amendments added by the lower house.
Since both chambers must agree for the budget to pass, once the Senate completes its review, a joint committee will attempt to broker a compromise between the two houses.
(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon, Sudip Kar-Gupta, editing by Inti Landauro)
