LIVE - François Bayrou's Budget: RN and LFI brandish censorship

The gender equality budget will be "slightly increased" in 2026, assures Aurore Bergé. The budget allocated to gender equality will be maintained in 2026 and "even slightly increased," Minister Aurore Bergé announced Wednesday. "It's a real political choice that the government has made, the budget will be maintained, it will even be slightly increased to finance universal emergency assistance" designed to help victims of domestic violence leave their homes, the Minister for Gender Equality told Franceinfo. "We are not cutting back on the expenses that we have deemed decisive and essential," she assured. Contacted by AFP, her entourage specified that the increase would be "around 2%."

For the government, after-sales service is available. A few minutes before the after-sales service of government spokesperson Sophie Primas and the Minister of Public Accounts, Amélie de Montchalin, who will be reporting on the Council of Ministers, an executive advisor downplays the opposition's outcry over the Bayrou-style budget. The removal of the May 8 holiday? "In the United Kingdom, we celebrate it, but it's not a holiday. Yet we can't say they didn't resist." Threats of censorship? "This isn't the final version. The opposition says they're censoring the current version. Compromises will be made. Things will change depending on who's willing to discuss it." As for the right-wing grumbling about the efforts required of retirees? "It's the wealthiest retirees who are affected, which isn't an absolute scandal." By Jean-Baptiste Daoulas

In "Le Canard enchaîné," the government's not-so-secret plan. By announcing the painful news yesterday and plunging the country into a diet , Bayrou seemed to be having a blast . He especially threw out some heavy stuff, provoking similar reactions from the opposition, who immediately rebranded the threat of censorship . But all of this seems to be calculated. According to Le Canard enchaîné, Aurore Bergé revealed the manipulative strategy, all in all quite classic, that guided the executive. "That's the theory: start off very loudly, very strongly. There's shouting from all sides, everyone defends their piece and we see what we can do to calm things down," explained "behind the scenes" the Minister Delegate for Equality between Women and Men, who imagines a presidential destiny. "During the preparation of the Budget, we clearly identified what we could give up to offer political gains to the opposition," she explained, while Bayrou's Matignon future is in the hands of the RN and the PS . And Bergé revealed the PR that the presidential camp will deploy to make the austerity snakes swallow: "Above all, we insist on the price of censorship: potential dissolution, financial disengagement..." Not sure that this will be enough to convince the opposition to spare the Prime Minister. Especially now that the secret plan is no longer so secret. By Chez Pol

Bayrou's plan judged as mixed by Les Républicains. Bayrou's plan judged as mixed by Les Républicains. The leader of the LR group in the Assembly, Laurent Wauquiez, believes this Wednesday that the Prime Minister's plan "must be corrected and improved." "The plan presented yesterday at least has the merit of seeking solutions in an extremely complicated situation," the Haute-Loire MP said during a press conference at the Assembly, denouncing the "sum of irresponsible reactions of all those who reject everything en bloc." On the positive side, he welcomes proposals pushed by the right in the past: the hunt for superfluous state agencies and operators, the fight against "abusive" work stoppages, the creation of unified social assistance, and the reduction of the number of civil servants. "This plan has two major flaws and two very big problems," Wauquiez then points out. First, tax increases, estimated at 10 billion by LR: "The maximum effort must be on reducing spending and not on tax increases." Second pitfall: Bayrou's plan "weighs heavily on working France." Dressed in the guise of a responsible ally, Wauquiez is putting his own measures back on the table: a single social assistance capped at 70% of the minimum wage, limiting the RSA to two years. The right is also putting a damper on "undue expenses due to immigration" and is notably proposing cuts to the AME (Medical Aid for the Elderly). As for state spending, LR wants to initiate a broader reflection on its scope. By Victor Boiteau

"Work more": Gérald Darmanin defends Bayrou's budget. Invited on BFMTV this Wednesday morning, Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin welcomed the €200 million increase for the justice system, which is currently "very impoverished," provided for in the budget presented by François Bayrou. The Minister of Justice also supported the general direction of the budget, which he said was based on the need to "work more" – since France, he insisted, is the country "where people retire the earliest" and "where people enter the job market the latest." He also welcomed the absence of a "surcharge on businesses," stating that no "confiscatory tax" had been decided by the executive. The minister acknowledged, however, that this budget had little chance of being passed by the Assembly, and expressed awareness of "the fragility of power." By Radidja Cieslak

"If the Bayrou government persists in its brutality," it will be "censorship," Boris Vallaud asserts. Economy Minister Eric Lombard affirmed this Wednesday that he was counting on the support of the Socialist Party to pass the government's public finance recovery plan. But while the Socialist Party had allowed the 2025 budget to be approved by not voting on the motion of censure then tabled, this time, the discussion seems to be off to a bad start. "The government's proposals are not acceptable and do not offer a basis for negotiation," tweeted the president of the Socialist deputies, Boris Vallaud. "We demand a real discussion. If the Bayrou government persists in its brutality, then it will suffer the same fate as Michel Barnier: censure."

And on the right? One might have expected a swift and coordinated response from LR, François Bayrou's ally in the government and the National Assembly (even if, yes, it's complicated), to the Prime Minister's budget announcements, which had been awaited for months. But while the entire political spectrum was in turmoil at the end of the Prime Minister's press conference on Tuesday afternoon, only a few right-wing voices spoke out in a scattered manner. Party president and Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau didn't say a word. His absence from Bayrou's grand mass was also notable. "He arrived late because of an important meeting," but "he was present at the meeting that followed," the government's number 5's entourage explained to Chez Pol. As for the reaction to the mayor of Pau's grand plan to reduce the debt, the same Retailleau advisor clarified: "LR will make proposals in the coming weeks. The [parliamentary] groups too." Meaning, they won't be the same? It seems so. Because the first official response from the right came at 10:15 this morning from Laurent Wauquiez, at a press conference for LR deputies in the Assembly. The party boss and the group leader "called each other on Tuesday, but indeed, each is within their own boundaries," the latter confirmed, where "it is unclear if and when the party will react." This shows the level of cooperation. This close friend of Wauquiez "doubts, however, that the group's position is very different from what the party president will say when the time comes." Phew! Why, then, not have organized something together? During their phone call yesterday, "Wauquiez told him there would be a reaction this morning and asked him if he wanted to be involved. Retailleau replied that he couldn't this morning" because of the Council of Ministers, the former regional president explained. The Vendéen definitely seems to always have better things to do... But it must be said that the schedule chosen by the Ponot is perhaps not the best to ensure the presence of a minister. Simple and unfortunate coincidences, no doubt. By Etienne Baldit

For LFI, it is the least advantaged families who will suffer from the budget. A guest on RFI at 8:20 a.m., Hadrien Clouet, a member of parliament for La France Insoumise and vice-president of the National Assembly's social affairs committee, strongly denounced the government's budgetary guidelines, which he considers "each more rotten than the last." The €44 billion in savings announced for 2026 will, according to him, result in significant cuts in essential sectors such as "agriculture, culture, and health." This represents "€630 per person," an amount he describes as "enormous," and which will fall exclusively on "the middle and working classes," while "the thousand most privileged families" will continue to escape almost all taxation. As for the solidarity contribution on the highest incomes, one of the rare social measures put forward by the executive, the MP deplores the vagueness surrounding this measure and fears a backpedaling by the government during the summer. By Radidja Cieslak

Also read: While the far-right party's demands are not yet set in stone, their philosophy is well-known: no tax increases for the French, and priority should be given to foreigners, civil service employees, and contributions to the European Union.

Analysis

Censorship for Liot too? An early riser and night owl, Charles de Courson devoted "part of [his] night" to scrutinizing the public accounts recovery plan outlined by François Bayrou. The budget rapporteur calculated that the increase in compulsory levies would be around "€14 billion," adding to the contribution on high incomes and the reduction in certain tax loopholes the contribution from companies in return for the elimination of two public holidays. This employer contribution should "bring in €4.2 billion," MP Liot calculated on Europe 1. "It shouldn't be said that these €44 billion are a massive reduction in public spending. For a third, it's an increase in compulsory levies," he concluded. Bayrou's former traveling companion adds that the deputies of the small Liot group must debrief the announcements at the end of the morning: "Knowing them, I would be surprised if many voted for this type of proposal. We are a group of free people. A certain number might vote for censure," imagines Courson who, "as it stands," will not vote for the budget, without wanting to bring down Bayrou and "add chaos to chaos." By Laure Equy

For the National Rally, "censorship" if François Bayrou persists. A guest on France Info's 8:30 a.m. news, Sébastien Chenu, National Rally vice-president and member of parliament for the Nord region, accused the Prime Minister of leading France to "ruin" and of having "austerity" as his only response. According to him, François Bayrou "has no vision" and is "lazy." The MP insists that "the French did not vote for this," while sidestepping the journalist's questions about the far-right party's absence from the latest motions of censure tabled by the left. "The country needs a budget," he justifies, while denouncing budgetary choices that will "drain the French." While he emphasizes that it is not possible to censor François Bayrou in the middle of the summer, he eagerly awaits "the start of the school year," when the Prime Minister will have to "account" for his budget before parliamentarians. "That's when things can get serious," he warns. And "if Bayrou persists, he'll be censored in the face." By Radidja Cieslak

A "fairly distributed budget," according to Modem member Marc Fesneau. Among those sent early this morning to defend François Bayrou's budget announcements were two ministers and a loyalist. For Marc Fesneau on France Inter, there was no "austerity plan," but rather "a rigorous budget" and "fairly distributed." The leader of the Modem deputies cites the tax on high incomes as proof, which, according to him, sends "a signal of fairness in the tax effort," as do the measures affecting retirees—a pension freeze as part of the "gap year" and the end of the 10% tax reduction for some of them. To the opposition, but also to some LR members, such as Laurent Wauquiez, who has made himself the great defender of retirees, the centrist has this little dig: "Some believe that it's their electorate and that it shouldn't be touched; it's a form of contempt for retirees who are aware that the debt is spiraling out of control." As for LFI and the RN, who brandished the threat of censorship in the fall on Tuesday, Fesneau responded with another risk, "censorship of the financial markets." By Laure Equy

The CGT (General Confederation of Trade Unions) is calling for a rally. The CGT is calling on "all workers who are shocked by these announcements to join unions and organize within their companies so that together we can mobilize at the start of the school year. " This was stated by the union's general secretary, Sophie Binet, on RTL regarding François Bayrou's budgetary decisions, which target employees in many ways. "We will debate within the CGT and with other union organizations how to defeat the government," explains Sophie Binet, denouncing—among other things—the elimination of two public holidays, the prospect of a law to "simplify" business life, and the freezing of benefits. By Frantz Durupt

Cécile Duflot castigates a "paternalistic" and "contemptuous" approach. Speaking to France Info this Wednesday morning, former Housing Minister and director of Oxfam France, Cécile Duflot, strongly criticized the budgetary guidelines presented the day before to the Assembly by François Bayrou, describing them as "unfair and very guilt-inducing" for "the entire population." "It's not public spending that has exploded, it's revenues" that have fallen, she insisted, denouncing a "paternalistic" and "contemptuous" approach on the part of the Prime Minister, and recalling that poverty has now reached a level not seen in thirty years, a finding supported by data collected by her NGO since 2017. "The freeze on social benefits provided for in the budget risks further increasing" precariousness, she warned, also regretting the Senate's rejection of the Zucman tax on the assets of the ultra-rich. By Radidja Cieslak

The Minister of Labor announces a "contribution" from businesses. This provides a clearer picture of how the government intends to raise €4.2 billion in revenue by eliminating two public holidays. This measure, if implemented, will result in a " contribution " from businesses, announced the Minister of Labor, Astrid Panosyan-Bouvet, on TF1's morning show. The details "will be finalized in the coming weeks," Matignon specified. Currently, the solidarity day, established in 2004, results in a contribution from businesses equivalent to 0.3% of their payroll, which directly contributes to the autonomy branch. This would represent nearly €2.4 billion by 2024. Some employers, particularly in very small and small businesses, may be unfavorable to the prospect of seeing this levy increase. By Frantz Durupt