Politics. One week before the confidence vote, François Bayrou begins a series of political consultations.

François Bayrou begins a series of consultations with political parties this Monday afternoon, one week before the vote of confidence he is seeking from the National Assembly on the budget issue, which could seal the fate of his government. The Prime Minister will meet on Monday at 5 p.m. with representatives of the Communist Party (PCF), its national secretary Fabien Roussel , and the group's president in the Assembly, Stéphane Peu.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, representatives of the parties supporting the presidential coalition will follow, as well as those from Place publique, Raphaël Glucksmann 's party, the National Rally, the UDR, Eric Ciotti 's party, and then the centrist group in the Liot Assembly. The Socialist Party will go to Matignon on Thursday morning, followed by the UDI, chaired by Hervé Marseille. La France insoumise and the Ecologists, for their part, refused to honor this invitation.

The “fate” of France

After creating a surprise by announcing that his government would be held responsible on September 8, even before the budget discussions began, François Bayrou appears to be more than on borrowed time at Matignon. On Sunday, he again defended his position in an interview with four rolling news channels, arguing in particular that the issue at stake in this vote was not "the fate of the Prime Minister" but that of France.

"No courageous policy is possible" without a "minimal agreement" on the "diagnosis," the Prime Minister also reiterated on Sunday. The chances of compromise appear slim, as François Bayrou considered that the Socialist Party's budget proposals meant that "nothing is being done" to reduce the debt.

The Socialist Party, which has said it is willing to take over from François Bayrou at Matignon after his likely fall, is proposing, in particular, to reduce the deficit by €21.7 billion in 2026, about half the €44 billion targeted by the government. The program includes €14 billion in savings "without taxing workers and public services," and €26.9 billion in new revenue, weighing "primarily on the wealthy."

"They don't want to govern"

"The plan they released this week demonstrates that they don't want to govern," a former Macronist minister said on Sunday. On July 15, François Bayrou presented the broad outlines of his budget proposal, which includes €43.8 billion in financial relief through a number of measures — a "tax blank year," a freeze on social benefits—the most widely discussed of which is the elimination of two public holidays without any compensation.

In the event of a negative vote on September 8, the head of government will have to submit the resignation of his government, less than a year after succeeding Michel Barnier, who was overthrown by a motion of censure on the budget texts.