Name: French Parliament approves Stopgap Bill: Budget bill moves to senate
Uploaded: 2025-12-23T17:05:10.071Z
Duration: 3 min 16 s
Description: French Parliament has approved the Stopgap Bill two days before Christmas. The budget bill now moves to French senate.

French Parliament has approved the Stopgap Bill two days before Christmas. The budget bill now moves to French senate.

Parijs

The French National Assembly has unanimously approved a stopgap bill allowing the 2025 budget to roll over into 2026, ensuring the government can continue its operations, including tax collection, salary payments, and pension delivery. The emergency measure was passed with 496 votes in favor and none against, as lawmakers sought to avoid a government shutdown amid ongoing political deadlock.

The bill now moves to the Senate for further consideration. Negotiations to reach a full budget agreement will continue in January, with both lawmakers and the public expressing frustration over the prolonged impasse, especially as it coincides with the holiday season.

French Parliament approves Stopgap Bill: Budget bill moves to senate

finish 2025 without a budget. They are voting on a stopgap bill to roll it over. Let's cross to the National Assembly to roll over that is the 2025 budget. France 24's Olivier Bizeau joins us from Parliament. The lower house has just voted, Olivia. Hello again. The votes have come through with 496 for this special law and zero against. There wasn't much suspense here this afternoon. It was largely expected to go through. Not because MPs are particularly for this special law, but because nobody wants a total government shutdown. This is not the budget that the government had hoped for. In fact, it is not even a new budget. It is actually an emergency measure that allows the 2025 budget to roll over into 2026. It essentially enables the government to keep on running, to keep collecting taxes, to keep paying public salaries and to keep delivering pensions. The real work then will continue, because let's remind the viewers that the French government has been in a political deadlock for months now, with these three major blocks unable to reach a compromise in Parliament to be able to get a budget through. These negotiations will continue in January with the government still pushing and trying to get that majority. The bill now going to the Senate. A unanimous vote going through the motions for this measure to prevent a US-style government shutdown. How much enthusiasm has there been for showing up at the National Assembly two days out of Christmas? To be very honest with you, as you can imagine, there is not much enthusiasm here at the National Assembly. French people are famous for loving their holidays and a lot of MPs obviously do not want to be here just a few days ahead of Christmas. There is definitely a sense of frustration here, but it is not just because of the date, it is also because it is sort of a confession that they have been unable to find a concession for this 2026 budget. There is also a sense of determination. The Prime Minister said this afternoon at the National Assembly that he is confident that after speaking to various parties, there is a desire, a real desire, to reach a consensus for a 2026 budget. But that sense of frustration among MPs is also spilling over to the general population. A lot of French people that I have been speaking to are fed up with the situation, this political puzzle that we have been trying to navigate through over the last few months. A lot of people are starting to tune out, especially during this Christmas week.

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