Center Left Props Up Emmanuel Macron’s Austerity Coalition

French premier François Bayrou forced approval of his 2025 budget this week .

He used a special constitutional power known as Article 49.3 to adopt two financing packages without a vote by the lower house.

With the upper house's green light on Thursday , the budget awaits final approval from the Constitutional Council before entering into effect.

Bayrou 's government survived thanks to the abstention of Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement National , which opted for de-escalation out of fear of alienating business interests and more mainstream conservative voters.

For the far right, the budget includes concessions like cuts to international development aid as well as a spending freeze on a health care program to cover undocumented migrants’ medical expenses.

With the budget now approved, the Parti Socialiste is expected to submit its own no-confidence motion.

The Parti Socialiste agreed to a program for full “rupture” with Macronism, it’s not hard to hear the center-left party singing a different tune.

In late December , the National Assembly approved a special financing law to renew the expenditures and revenues in the 2024 budget.

France Insoumise argued that it could have been used as a stand-in budget amid the paralysis in parliament.