The worsening political deficit in France hinders the approval of the 2026 budget

Over the past five years, southern Europe, which had previously struggled, has put its public finances in order. Italy, Greece and Spain have reduced their budget deficits to levels consistent with European Union rules.

The only exception is France, which over three years suffered a deficit exceeding 5% of GDP. It was believed that France’s economic decline in front of the countries that helped save it during the eurozone crisis would make politicians focus on this matter.

But France failed even to pass a budget for 2026, and now faces the latest in a series of parliamentary battles to adopt a budget by the end of this month.

The fiscal impasse is a symptom of a deeper illness, a dangerous case of worsening collective political impotence, as President Emmanuel Macron enters the final 15 months of his presidency, still able to act internationally, but powerless at home, where he has the support of less than 20% of the French population.

Macron’s centrist coalition holds 161 of the 577 seats in the divided National Assembly (parliament), making it practically impossible to accomplish anything.

A depressing scene

The far right and populist left are working to keep Macron paralyzed. It is a bleak scene at a critical time, and everyone bears some responsibility.

France’s slide into ungovernability began in 2023, when the opposition and unions sparked anger over Macron’s sensible pension reform, which raised the minimum retirement age from 62 to 64.

At the instigation of the populist left-wing “France Proud” party and the far-right “National Rally” party, demonstrators took to the streets to protest the demographic reality.

After the National Rally won the European Parliament elections in 2024, Macron called for early legislative elections, and those elections left him with a smaller centrist minority. The new Prime Minister, Michel Barnier, lasted only three months, before the National Rally and the Proud France party allied to expel him.

Brave proposal

Barnier’s successor, François Bayrou, courageously proposed a budget last July that would reduce the deficit to 4.6% of GDP, but Parliament rejected it and brought down his government in September.

The next Prime Minister, Sebastian Lokono, was able to pass part of the budget by giving in to the Socialists’ demand to freeze pension reform.

To pass the rest, he accepted a long list of new or higher taxes imposed by the Socialists and the small Green Party, but that was not enough, and in December, the government extended the 2025 budget to 2026.

Flounder into the unknown

All major players in French politics should be ashamed, and the extremes seem happy to leave France floundering in the unknown.

The leader of the Struggle for Equality Movement, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, stands firm on the barriers, while the leaders of the National Rally Party, Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella, hope that Macron will fail so that they can achieve victory in the 2027 presidential elections.

The Socialists and Greens have no vision for resolving the French budget crisis other than raising taxes. The Republicans, who are supposedly fiscally conservative, allowed the suspension of the pension reform, which will cost 100 million euros in 2026 alone.

Perhaps no one could have managed this discordant team, but Macron’s unbalanced and distant approach did not help matters.

Finally, voters should not be absolved of blame, as they failed to appreciate Macron’s successful economic policies, refused to accept the welfare system’s need for reform, and continued to vote for the least responsible politicians. About “The Economist”

. France’s political slide began in 2023 when the opposition and unions sparked anger over Macron’s pension reform.

. François Bayrou proposed a budget that would reduce the deficit to 4.6% of GDP, but Parliament rejected it and brought down his government.