France’s National Assembly has overwhelmingly rejected the first part of the Finance Bill for 2027, leaving the government to find a route to adopting a budget by the end of the year.
France’s National Assembly on 4 November 2026 overwhelmingly rejected the first part of the Finance Bill for 2027, with 458 votes against, none in favour and two abstentions. The government had submitted the Bill on 1 October 2026.
Lawmakers from both President Emmanuel Macron’s camp and the opposition voted against the section, which various groups had extensively amended. The second part, covering spending, was struck down as a result.
The government will send the Bill to the Senate in its original form, without the Assembly’s amendments. Senators are due to debate it from 20 November, and it remains unclear whether parliament will ultimately adopt it.
If the ordinary procedure fails, the government may invoke paragraph 3 of article 49 of the Constitution, under which a Finance Bill is deemed adopted unless a motion of no confidence is passed, as it did for the 2025 and 2026 Bills. It could also use paragraph 3 of article 47 to bring the provisions into force by ordinance if parliament has not decided within 70 days, which has never been done since 1958, or propose a special bill authorising the collection of existing taxes pending adoption of the Bill.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, who lacks a majority in the lower chamber, must find EUR 43 billion in budget savings. The government has pledged to cut the deficit to 5% of gross domestic product next year, while Budget Minister David Amiel said the rejected version would have lifted it to 5.9%.
Earlier, France’s National Assembly published the draft Finance Bill for 2027 on 1 October 2026.
