Name: France passes disputed 2026 social security budget
Uploaded: 2025-12-10T07:55:09.106Z
Duration: 1 min 16 s
Description: The National Assembly narrowly approved the controversial 2026 social security bill, offering a brief political boost to PM Sébastien Lecornu.

The National Assembly narrowly approved the controversial 2026 social security bill, offering a brief political boost to PM Sébastien Lecornu.

Paris

France's lower house of parliament has approved the 2026 social security budget in a close vote, with 247 MPs in favor, 234 against, and 93 abstentions. The bill seeks to address significant funding gaps in welfare, pensions, and health care, and its passage is considered a victory for Prime Minister Sébastien Le Corneuil.

To secure support, Le Corneuil suspended President Emmanuel Macron's pension reform, gaining the backing of the centre-left Socialist Party but alienating some conservatives and centrists. The government had warned that rejecting the budget could worsen public finances, as France faces pressure to reduce its budget deficit amid a fragmented parliament.

France passes disputed 2026 social security budget

France's social security budget cleared a key hurdle in parliament on Tuesday as MPs narrowly approved a draft bill aimed at staving off a huge gap in funding for welfare, pensions and health care. A total of 247 MPs voted in favour of the text and 234 voted against, while 93 abstained. The vote by lawmakers in the lower house handed a victory to embattled Prime Minister Sébastien Le Corneuil. Le Corneuil was saved by making last-minute concessions that included suspending President Emmanuel Macron's pension reform to secure the votes of the centre-left Socialist Party, alienating the Conservative Republican Party and his own centrist alliance. The government had warned MPs that if the social security budget for next year were to be rejected, public finances could quickly deteriorate. France, the Eurozone's second-largest economy, is under pressure to cut its budget deficit, but efforts have been armed strong by a fragmented parliament, the result of snap elections President Macron called last year.

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