Budget referendum: Chenu believes that Bayrou "is seeking to last rather than change things"

Sébastien Chenu sees it as a "sleight of hand," which "no one is fooled by." The National Rally MP, a guest on BFMTV-RMC this Monday, May 5, is against a referendum on a "comprehensive plan" to reduce deficits , an idea put forward this weekend by Prime Minister François Bayrou.

The latter "is trying to gain time and "to last rather than change things," accuses Sébastien Chenu, while the threat of censure is perpetual in this National Assembly without an absolute majority.

This "comprehensive plan," which would be the subject of a referendum, "will require efforts from everyone, and given the scale it must be, it cannot succeed if the French people do not support it," François Bayrou said in an interview given to the Journal du Dimanche (JDD) and published Saturday evening.

The government, which has repeatedly avoided censure over its 2025 budget texts, is now working on its 2026 budget. The goal is not only to find €40 billion in savings, with the aim of reducing the public deficit in gross domestic product (GDP) from 5.4% this year to 4.6% next year. It also aims to convince people of the rationale for this policy.

For now, François Bayrou has taken on this task, notably presenting his diagnosis at a conference on public finances last month. As for concrete measures, the Prime Minister has not yet decided, even though several members of the government have mentioned avenues - some of which, such as the question of eliminating the tax deduction for retirees , are causing some gnashing of teeth.

By having his plan approved by referendum, François Bayrou could seek to rely on a form of legitimacy before a Parliament where his camp is fragile, due to a lack of a majority.

"When you reform through traditional channels, through force, what happens? The country goes on strike, and demonstrations follow one after the other," the Prime Minister stressed.

In any case, the final word will rest with the President of the Republic, who has the power to organize referendums.

Meanwhile, Sébastien Chenu highlights the role of Parliament in reviewing budget texts. For example, he attributes to the far right "the fact that retirees were not de-indexed" to inflation in the latest budget, as initially envisaged by the Barnier government.

"So it's still useful for it to go through Parliament," the Northern MP maintains. He forgot to mention that the Socialist Party was also demanding the abandonment of this measure in exchange for its non-censorship of the Bayrou government. Laurent Wauquiez , leader of the LR MPs, also congratulated himself on having gotten the executive to move on this point.

If a referendum is to be held, it should be on "immigration," says Sébastien Chenu, once again supporting this well-known proposal from the National Rally, even though the Constitution does not, as it stands, allow the French to be consulted on the subject.

Or, if François Bayrou "wants to have his budgetary guidelines validated by the French people, then he should ask Emmanuel Macron to dissolve the National Assembly," provokes the RN spokesperson.

This possibility, which Emmanuel Macron will regain this summer, a year after dissolving it on the evening of the European elections, would, however, entail a major disadvantage for the RN: its leader, Marine Le Pen, is currently ineligible following her first-instance judgment in the trial of the FN parliamentary assistants, and could therefore not run, unless there is a contrary decision on appeal or a reduction in the sentence.