French President Emmanuel Macron has promulgated a special law allowing state institutions to function at the beginning of 2026 without an adopted main budget. This was reported by the Official Journal on Saturday, writes UNN.
Details
The special legislative instrument allows the government to continue collecting taxes and ensure the operation of ministries by automatically extending the 2025 budget to 2026. This decision was unanimously adopted by parliament on Tuesday after senators and members of the joint committee failed to reach an agreement on the draft budget for next year.
Such a measure is forced and temporary. It will be in effect until the resumption of parliamentary debates on the finance law, which are scheduled for January. France already used a similar mechanism last year after a vote of no confidence in the Barnier government.
Budget expenditure limits
The temporary law imposes strict restrictions on the state's financial activities. The government is prohibited from introducing any new taxes or increasing expenditures compared to the 2025 level.
This restriction directly applies to the defense sector, which Emmanuel Macron previously identified as a priority due to the Russian threat. Any increase in funding for military needs is blocked until the full budget for 2026 is finally approved.