Elisabeth Borne Urges Use of Article 49.3 to Ensure 2026 Budget Passage

Former French Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne has called on the current government led by Minister Sébastien Lecornu to take decisive action to adopt the 2026 budget by the end of the year, including employing the constitutional mechanism Article 49.3 if necessary. Her appeal comes amid political resistance and debate over how to secure the budget's passage in the French Parliament.

In interviews with French media, Borne emphasized the government's responsibility to deliver a timely budget, advocating for a deficit below 5%. She stressed that failing to adopt the budget before year-end risks governance issues and warned against relying on special laws that maintain government spending at previous year levels without allowing new expenditures—a strategy used in 2024 that she considers undesirable.

Borne, who herself has invoked Article 49.3 twenty-three times during her tenure and survived thirty-one censure motions, framed the constitutional tool not as a forceful or exceptional measure but rather as a pragmatic way to facilitate budget approval without requiring opposition parties’ direct support. She outlined alternative routes for budget adoption, including a vote on the conclusions from the parliamentary mixed committee or a blocked vote on the compromise budget, but urged Lecornu to "take his responsibilities," including the use of 49.3 if negotiations fail.

Her recommendations come as Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure has already threatened to pursue a vote of censure should Lecornu resort to 49.3 without prior compromise. Despite this, Borne stressed that the imperative is to ensure the budget’s passage to avoid prolonged political deadlock.

This intervention by Borne highlights the intense political pressures surrounding the 2026 budget and the strategic use of constitutional procedures to uphold governance and fiscal responsibility in France.