Name: France faces pivotal budget vote amid deep political divisions
Uploaded: 2025-12-10T01:56:32.842Z
Duration: 3 min 19 s
Description: France’s divided parliament faces a pivotal vote on Tuesday that could spark a new political crisis and create a €30 billion shortfall in funding for healthcare, pensions and welfare.

France’s divided parliament faces a pivotal vote on Tuesday that could spark a new political crisis and create a €30 billion shortfall in funding for healthcare, pensions and welfare.

Paris

The French National Assembly is holding a critical vote on a budget bill that will shape the financing of the nation's social system, including pensions, social security, healthcare, and welfare. Lawmakers have made several last-minute modifications, notably increasing the budget for hospitals and doctors, in an attempt to secure enough support for the bill to pass.

The vote is expected to be extremely close, with the ecologist group potentially playing a decisive role. If the bill fails, the current budget would be extended, resulting in an additional €30 billion in spending. If it passes, spending would be reduced to €19 billion. The outcome could also have significant political consequences for government officials.

France faces pivotal budget vote amid deep political divisions

For more on this we can cross live to the National Assembly and speak to our reporter James Andre Standing by James. We've just been listening to lawmakers. Then who've started reviewing this bill. What's the latest you're hearing? Yes, what's absolutely right now what's happening is that lawmakers at all taking a stand here at the Parliament and basically, you know discussing the last modifications to this bill which has been back and forth between the Parliament and the Senate here and Francis we've modified multiple times and indeed in past just few weeks and days the government has been working hard to try and show up support for it with the lawmakers basically bringing modifications last-minute modifications in some cases like for example Just yesterday there was a change to the budget that will be allocated to Raising the global budget of hospitals and doctors in French cities and indeed Well government is hoping for it to pass now the kingmaker today could very well be the ecologist group And they're the ones that were you know Hopefully being wooed with this increase in spending when it comes to hospitals and doctors But this has been going on for weeks now And yes It's a very very tight race That is taking place today and it's impossible to say if indeed this bill will pass or not if it does it might just be by ten votes and Our viewers might be wondering why is this particular bill so important? Especially if we still need to do the overall budget for next year. What's so important about this bill James? Well, it's very important simply because it is the whole financing of the social System here in France that includes the pensions that includes the social security so the whole health care architecture and system and also Welfare here in France, so, you know the decisions that are taken here today We'll have a very direct impact on the French public one of the main ones for example And this has already been negotiated with the Socialist Party when it comes to the government Well, it is for example the suspension of the pension reform That means very concretely that for example, if this bill passes, well, some people will be able to Retire three months earlier. That's just one example But we're talking billions of euros that will be spent or not the budget which is in place if this vote basically fails well will be Reconducted for a year and that would mean an extra spending of 30 billion euros If indeed the bill passes that bill would be reduced to 19 billion and this of course is in a context of very tense financial problems when it comes to France and then there are many many other issues that are Negotiated in this budget. Also, it comes before as you were saying the vote on the state budget itself So the big question mark is will lawmakers be able to broker a deal to make this bill pass if it does not And Matignon, which is the office of the Prime Minister has already said that the Sébastien Lecornu would not step down But still he would be under intense political pressure and could very well be forced into Stepping down. All right, James Andre. Thank you very much for your reporting there

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