France races to avoid US-style government shutdown
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France faces emergency stopgap legislation to avoid a government shutdown after lawmakers abandoned 2026 budget talks on Friday, failing to agree on a compromise bill.
A French parliamentary committee failed to agree on a 2026 budget, pushing discussion on the full fiscal plan into the new year and increasing doubts over how the government can rein in the deficit.
France passed its social security budget, but the state budget remains unresolved, and the deficit outlook is worsening.
France still has time to pass a budget before the end of the year and can pass special stopgap legislation to avoid a shutdown in spending if time runs out, Finance Minister Roland Lescure said on Thursday.
Sébastien Lecornu, the third French prime minister in less than a year, succeeded where his two predecessors failed — at least for now.
France's debt-to-GDP ratio is the European Union's third-highest after Greece and Italy, and is close to twice the bloc's 60% ceiling.
French lawmakers failed on Friday to hammer out a compromise 2026 budget bill, making special legislation likely to roll over spending limits into the new year in the absence of a proper budget.
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