LIVE – Budget 2026: Nationalโฃ Assembly Rejects Tax Increase on Biofuels
PARIS – In a significant blow to the government’s financial plan, โthe National Assembly โคtoday rejectedโค a proposedโค taxโข increase on two biofuels, escalating uncertainty surrounding theโฃ passage of theโ 2026 budget. The โvote signals deepening divisions withinโ the left-wing opposition and raises the possibility of the government resorting to unprecedented measures to manage state finances.
The rejection throws โthe budget’s future into question, possibly triggering โaโค legislative standoff and forcing the government to consider enacting laws by ordinance – a procedure neverโ before utilized. Should Parliamentโฃ fail to reach an agreement by โDecemberโ 23rd, the state could face a freeze on expenditures and โฃrely on existing tax laws, delaying a comprehensive budget โresolution until early โ2026. this outcome wouldโ necessitate a special law to authorize โฃcontinued tax collection.
The vote comes amidst aโ complex political landscape. โWhileโ the socialist deputies, led by โคBoris Vallaud, initially indicated they would vote against the budget in its current form, the first secretary of the โPS, Olivierโ Faure, โฃsuggested on Monday thatโ a path to adoption remained “possible,” albeit “narrow.” โThis position has drawn โcriticismโ from both Laโฃ france Insoumise (LFI) and theโ ecologists, with Cyrielle Chatelain, head โคof the environmentalist deputies, expressing confusion overโฃ the PS’s pursuit ofโ compromise.
Should the initial draft be rejected, it will proceedโข to the Senate in its original form, initiating a parliamentary โคshuttleโ process. The outcome will determine โwhether the government can secure its financial plan or be โcompelled to implement emergency measures to avoid a budgetary crisis.
