PARIS, Feb 3 (Reuters) - French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou is set to employ special constitutional powers to push through the 2025 budget on Monday, which will prompt a pivotal no-confidence vote later in the week to determine the survival of his minority government.
There is mounting pressure on France to finalize a long-pending budget for the year, as business leaders, European Union partners, and voters express impatience with a political establishment struggling to move past its confrontational tendencies.
France has been in political turmoil since President Emmanuel Macron's unexpected decision to call for a snap election in June, resulting in a hung parliament amid a sudden gap in public finances.
Bayrou, who took office in December as the fourth French prime minister of 2024, is seeking to avoid the fate of his predecessor Michel Barnier, whose brief tenure ended when left-wing and far-right legislators united to vote him out.
Ahead of the vote, Bayrou has made concessions to the Socialist party to secure their non-support for the scheduled no-confidence motion on Wednesday, agreeing to allocate more funds for hospitals and teacher recruitment in a deal reached last week.
However, the Socialists are internally divided due to pressure from their hard-left allies, France Unbowed, on whether to allow Bayrou to remain in power. Marine Le Pen's far-right lawmakers have also threatened to bring about his downfall.
Bayrou cautioned in an interview with La Tribune Dimanche over the weekend, Making good on these threats would be angrily rejected by the French people. These two parties know that as well as I do.
According to an Odoxa poll for Public Senat released on Jan. 28, only 24% of French voters believe the left should pursue a no-confidence motion against Bayrou, while 74% feel the Socialist party should seek compromises instead.
The collapse of the Barnier government in early December led to France missing the year-end budget deadline, causing economic uncertainty for households and businesses alike.
The ongoing crisis has already cost France 12 billion euros ($12.4 billion), primarily through a downturn in economic growth, as per government reports.
Over the weekend, the Socialists faced pressure from former Socialist prime minister Lionel Jospin, who warned in an interview with France 5 that, Supporting the no-confidence motion would not be a responsible decision.
The budget proposal comprises tax increases and expenditure reductions aiming to reduce the French budget deficit to 5.4% of GDP in 2024.
($1 = 0.9651 euros)