France may likely be subjected to political uncertainty as Prime Minister Francois Bayrou warns to use special executive powers to get his budget approved without a vote by lawmakers. The move is expected to cause a no-confidence motion in the country. Earlier in December, a confidence motion due to budget disputes forced the exit of Prime Minister Michel Barnier.
Bayrou warns to use Article 49.3
Bayrou has warned that he will use a constitutional tool known as Article 49.3, which enables the government of France to pass legislation without a parliamentary vote. However, it remains exposed to confidence motions.
French lawmakers are set to debate the conclusions of a joint parliamentary committee on the state budget on Monday. Later this week, they will turn their attention to the Social Security budget.
“Now we have to go straight to adoption,” Bayrou said. “A country like ours cannot be without a budget. The only way to do that is to make the government responsible.”
After the election in June that did not deliver a clear majority, the fear of shutdown looms against the backdrop of a fractured National Assembly.
Macron turned to Barnier to navigate the impasse
Earlier in September, French President Emmanuel Macron asked Barnier to navigate the impasse over the budget. However, Barnier's budget, which proposed to slash 40 billion Euros (USD 42 billion) in spending and raise taxes by 20 billion Euros, only exacerbated the situation.
To seek more stability for his minority government, Bayrou announced in January that he was open to renegotiating a contested plan raising the retirement age from 62 to 64.
The government's revised plans for the budget that aim at limiting France's deficit to 5.4 per cent of gross domestic product this year have also addressed concerns from opposition lawmakers. The joint committee has maintained an extra tax on large companies while increasing a tax on financial transactions. Also, Bayrou kept his commitment not to cut 4,000 jobs in national education, a move that had previously been envisaged.
(With inputs from AP)
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