French leader outlines drastic 2026 budget cuts as opposition warns of fallout
PARIS, France, Prime Minister François Bayrou is set to reveal the blueprint of France’s 2026 budget this afternoon, outlining a bold and controversial plan to slash €40 billion from government and social security spending in a bid to tame the country’s spiraling deficit.
The announcement comes during parliament’s summer recess, a move widely viewed as strategic. With MPs away from Paris, Bayrou’s minority government buys itself a three-month window to prepare for what is expected to be a fierce political showdown when the formal budget debate begins in October.
The proposed cuts aim to reduce the national deficit to 4.6% of GDP, in response to growing pressure from both the European Commission and global financial markets. Key measures reportedly include freezing or trimming departmental budgets, scaling back public services, and increasing tax contributions from wealthier retirees.
Adding to Bayrou’s challenge, President Emmanuel Macron has demanded an additional €3.5 billion in defence spending, to be funded without new borrowing — further tightening fiscal room.
The political stakes are high. Without a parliamentary majority, Bayrou must secure backing from both the far-right National Rally (RN) and the centre-left Socialist Party (PS) to pass the budget. Both have already signaled stiff resistance.
“Our red line will be anything that demands that the French people contribute more than the efforts they are already making morning, noon, and night,” warned RN MP Sébastien Chenu, emphasizing that no social group, from workers to retirees, should be burdened further.
With memories still fresh of former Prime Minister Michel Barnier’s fall after a failed austerity push, Bayrou now faces a race against time. He is expected to spend the summer lobbying opposition MPs with potential concessions, hoping to build a fragile coalition that could help him survive the storm in the autumn.
Bayrou made a high-profile appearance at the Bastille Day parade in Paris this weekend, a symbolic gesture of leadership at a moment when his political future hangs in the balance.
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