French Prime Minister François Bayrou
French finance minister warned of the risk of intervention by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) if the government led by François Bayrou falls.
This Monday, the French Prime Minister, François Bayrouhe announced that he will submit to a vote of confidence on 8 September in Parliament due to the state budget proposal to 2026, which provides cuts of 44 billion euros.
During a press conference, François Bayrou insisted that clarification on the budgetary situation and the way of correcting it is needed, and that the place to do it is “the parliament” and not “in the disorder of the streets”.
If the Prime Minister does not The vote of confidence in Parliament – a possible scenario, since the centrists and conservatives who support it do not have absolute majority – will have to resign and a new government crisis will be opened.
But worse: this Tuesday, in statements to the radio, the Minister of Finance, Éric Lombardwarned the French that, if the government does not pass the motion of trust, France is at risk of being intervened by the IMF.
In this kind of warning/“threat” to opposition, the ruler stressed that this is a risk that it is necessary to avoid at all costs, giving Portugal as an example.
“It is a risk that we do not want; We cannot do as Spain or Portugal. It is a risk that the IMF interves if the financial situation deteriorates. We want and should avoid, but I won’t say it’s a risk that doesn’t exist. ”
But bayrou risks
Aware that he does not have a clear majority, the head of the French government justified this motion of confidence, which opens the door to the fall of the executive and future political instability, with the argument that It would be more risky to do nothing.
“If we have a majority, the government is confirmed. If we do not, the government falls,” he said.
Bayrou, who has been in office for just nine months, insisted that “the risk” of a new political crisis, after the one that lived in 2024 with the convening of early elections, “It is the condition for the French to become aware” of the severity of the situation.
Bayrou prepares drastic cuts
Bayrou prepares drastic cuts for the 2026 budget. The Prime Minister has already warned that he will not abandon the proposed adjustment plan in July, which includes the freezing of some social benefits, cuts in social programs And perhaps the most controversial measure, the Abolition of two holidays.
The motion of confidence will “consecrate the dimension of effort” almost 44 billion euros to reduce the French public deficit And only then will there be a “discussion” about “each of the measures of this emergency plan,” he explained.
The French Party (LFI, Radical Left) and the French Communist Party (PCF) announced separately that they would vote to “overthrow the government”.
For its part, the party of far-right National Union stated that it would not vote in favor of trust, with its president, Jordan Bardella, to predict “the end of the government.”
The objective of the Bayrou Budget is to pursue a public deficit reduction way, which has fled control in recent years and has reached 5.8% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2024.
Of the 5.4% scheduled for 2025, the government expects that, with the proposed measures, the deficit descends to 4.6% of GDP in 2026, in a trajectory that allows a deficit of 2.8% in 2029, below the 3% established in the European Union stability and growth pact.
