French National Assembly president urges using article 49.3 to pass 2027 budget without a vote
Yaël Braun-Pivet, president of the National Assembly, argued in a Saturday interview that adopting the 2027 budget quickly with article 49.3 would give the country 'perspective and stability' nine months before a presidential election.
Braun-Pivet's plea
In an interview with La Provence published on 13 June 2026, National Assembly president Yaël Braun-Pivet called for the 2027 budget to be 'adopted quickly using article 49.3'. She stressed that with a parliament lacking any majority, a sober, technical, and reasonable budget is needed to assure fiscal stability for businesses.
Nine months before a presidential election with a parliament that has no majority, we already need to secure a budget. I advocate for one that is sober and technical, reasonable, and adopted quickly using a 49.3. We also need fiscal stability for companies.
Three scenarios for the budget
Without a majority to vote the budget, the government faces three options. Article 49.3 of the constitution allows passage by engaging government responsibility. Alternatively, the government could use ordonnances budgétaires, bypassing parliament entirely, or a special law that rolls over the previous year's revenues until the presidential election. Public Accounts Minister David Amiel rejected the special law, warning it would be a grave danger for the country. Voices in the Socialist Party (PS) have called the ordinance route an 'awful precedent' so close to the 2027 vote.
It would be a grave danger.
Political reactions
Former president François Hollande had already expressed support in mid-April for using 49.3 after a short budget debate, arguing it would ensure 'minimal stability' even if it ruled out structural reforms. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu had previously pledged to avoid 49.3 during negotiations with the PS, but was forced to employ it in January 2026 for the state budget. The PS did not censure him then, allowing the budget to pass and his government to survive.
Minimal stability.
A volatile backdrop
The push from Braun-Pivet comes as the executive faces the same parliamentary arithmetic that forced the January use of 49.3. A ninth-month countdown to the presidential contest leaves little room for drawn-out legislative battles, making the choice of budgetary procedure both a technical and deeply political decision.
