France's 2026 Budget Talks Stall as Left Boycotts Negotiations, Exit Tax Reinstated
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu seeks closed-door talks after left parties boycott budget negotiations, while deputies reinstate the exit tax to curb evasion.
- • Left-wing parties boycott budget negotiation meeting due to Rassemblement national's participation.
- • Prime Minister Lecornu initiates closed-door talks with political group leaders to find budget consensus.
- • Deputies reinstate the exit tax, expected to yield 70 million euros in revenue.
- • An amendment reduces the capital gains tax exemption holding period on secondary properties from 22 to 17 years.
Key details
The French government is facing growing challenges in securing consensus on the 2026 state budget as left-wing parties boycotted a key negotiation meeting in protest against the far-right Rassemblement national's participation. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has opted for closed-door discussions with parliamentary group leaders in an effort to establish overarching budget principles and salvage the budget process amid partisan tensions.
On November 3, the Ministry of Relations between the government and parliamentary groups convened a budget negotiation session, which was boycotted by the Socialist Party, Ecologists, Communists, and La France Insoumise due to the presence of Rassemblement national representatives. A Socialist source stated, "We do not negotiate the budget with the Rassemblement national." Meanwhile, the Green party indicated willingness to participate if negotiations accommodate compromises on social justice and ecological concerns. Ministers including Laurent Panifous and Amélie de Montchalin attended, alongside representatives from right-wing parties such as LR, UDR, Horizons, MoDem, Renaissance, and the RN.
To overcome these divides, Prime Minister Lecornu is pursuing confidential talks away from the National Assembly's divisive environment, aiming to rally support by seeking broad principles ahead of the budget showdown. His office announced that he will meet with the heads of political groups on Monday to foster cooperation and find common ground.
In parallel with these political maneuvers, deputies approved a notable amendment reinstating the "exit tax" (taxe d'expatriation), a fiscal measure originally introduced under Nicolas Sarkozy to deter tax evasion by entrepreneurs moving abroad. Proposed by Jean-Philippe Tanguy of the RN, the amendment restores the tax to its 2012-2019 form and is expected to generate approximately 70 million euros in revenue, according to Public Accounts Minister Amélie de Montchalin. The amendment passed with the support of the far-right, opposition from the right and Macronist deputies, and abstentions from the left.
Another approved amendment reduces the holding period for full capital gains tax exemption on secondary properties from 22 to 17 years, voted by Corentin Le Fur of The Republicans. Discussions on the budget's revenue section will continue until November 23 before moving to the Senate for further examination.
Overall, France's 2026 budget negotiations reveal deep political fractures, with the government striving to balance competing interests amid parliamentary boycotts and contested amendments, making the path to budget approval increasingly complex.