Written by Lee Thomas
PARIS (Reuters) – France's far-right National Rally (RN) leaders said on Sunday that a vote of no confidence that could topple Prime Minister Michel Barnier is within days after the government rejected demands for further budget concessions. He said the possibility of this happening has increased.
RN lawmaker Marine Le Pen has given Mr Barnier until Monday the choice of giving in to the party's budget demands or face the threat of supporting a no-confidence motion that is likely to trigger the government's collapse. was giving.
But Le Pen told Agence France-Presse that the government had effectively “put an end to the discussion” as the conflict escalated significantly.
He said earlier Sunday that Mr Barnier faces a choice between negotiating new concessions or facing the threat of his government falling in a no-confidence vote.
Mr Barnier had already scrapped a planned electricity tax increase last week, but the National Party also aimed to raise pensions at below-inflation levels to save money, whereas the National Party had raised pensions in line with inflation. I'm also looking for that.
RNs also want planned drug reimbursement cuts to be scrapped and are unhappy with the possibility of the government raising petrol taxes. It also calls for a reduction in France's contribution to the European Union budget, among other demands.
The standoff between the governments could come to a head as early as Monday if Mr. Barnier has to use his active constitutional powers to force a vote on the social security financing bill, which could bring the left-wing A motion of no confidence is inevitable.
To survive the vote in the divided House of Commons, Barnier will need the RN's abstention, otherwise the government and the budget could collapse, plunging France into a deep political crisis.
Budget Minister Laurent Saint-Martin said on Sunday that the government respected the compromise on the social security bill agreed by MPs, but RN party leader Jordan Bardera said that meant no further changes would be made. He then said he had received it.
“The minority government, through its stubbornness and sectarianism, has broken off negotiations and is at risk of a vote of no confidence,” Bardera told the TV program “X.”
As the standoff worsens, Saint-Martin and Finance Minister Antoine Armand have warned that French taxpayers and pensioners will be directly affected if a no-confidence vote is held.
Armand told Le Journal du Dimanche at the weekend that securing the budget at the beginning of the year meant special emergency legislation would need to be passed.
However, only spending limits and tax rules can be carried over from this year, neither of which can be adjusted for inflation, squeezing pensions and raising the tax threshold for 17 million people.
Rising uncertainty over the future of France's budget and government weighed on French government bonds and stocks, with risk premiums on government bonds rising to their highest level in more than 12 years last week.
Standard & Poor's on Friday offered some relief by keeping its rating on French government bonds unchanged at “AA-'', although it raised questions about whether the country could stick to its government's deficit-reduction target.
(Reporting by Leigh Thomas; Editing by David Evans)
