Key facts
- 458 lawmakers from Emmanuel Macron's camp and the opposition voted against the tax-income part of the 2027 budget bill.
- The spending part of the text was also struck down as a result of the rejection.
- The draft budget now goes to the Senate, where it will be debated from November 20.
- Budget Minister David Amiel said the rejected amended version would have brought the deficit to 5.9% of GDP.
- The government has pledged to bring the deficit down to 5% of gross domestic product next year.
- Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu lacks a majority in the lower chamber, and the rejection was widely expected.
France's National Assembly unanimously rejected the 2027 state budget bill on the night of November 4, 2026, with 458 lawmakers from both Emmanuel Macron's camp and the opposition voting against the first part of the text dealing with tax income. The second part, covering spending, was also struck down as a result.
The text had been extensively amended by various groups, producing a proposal no one was happy with. The government's draft budget now goes directly to the Senate, where it will be debated from November 20. The lower chamber had already rejected the other leg of the 2027 budget, covering state pensions and the health care system, which will also be discussed in the Senate.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu's government has pledged to bring the deficit down to 5% of gross domestic product next year. Budget Minister David Amiel warned on November 4 that, after the amendments, the version rejected that night would have brought the deficit to 5.9%.
With Lecornu lacking a majority in the lower chamber, the rejection was widely expected and increases the chances the government will try to force the text through. The government has repeatedly said it aims to adopt the budget by the end of the year, something it failed to do with the two previous budgets. It could use Article 49.3 of the Constitution again, a provision that allows it to bypass a parliamentary vote but exposes it to no-confidence motions, or adopt the budget through executive orders, an option the report describes as unprecedented in France's recent history.