how Sébastien Lecornu regains control of the debates in the Assembly

Barely restarted, the examination of the State budget is experiencing new twists and turns. While the deputies had resumed discussions on the “revenue” part of the finance bill for 2026 (PLF), Thursday, November 13, the government announced shortly before midnight that the Assembly would not sit during the weekend, unlike the previous and the following. These two non-working days deprive deputies of precious time in this race against budgetary time.

If the executive defends a common sense measure in the face of “fatigue” deputies and staff of the Assembly, La France insoumise and environmentalists accuse him of trying to save time. And even elected officials from the central bloc see it as an additional tactic from a Prime Minister who is moving forward on the budgetary peak path.

“At the pace at which we are moving forward, it is obvious that on Monday we will not finish the 1,900 amendments that are before us. We must also take into account the fatigue that exists among deputies, collaborators and administrators”justified Laurent Panifous, Minister of Relations with Parliament, Thursday evening, while deputies from the National Rally, the Republicans and Liot had requested a suspension of debates this weekend. “There can be no question of using this argument to prevent us from being able to vote on the state budget, it is not possible and it is not normal,” replied the rebellious Manuel Bompard, in a tense chamber.

Part of the left denounces the government’s takeover of budgetary debates, despite the renunciation of article 49.3 (which allows a bill to be adopted without having the deputies vote). “They don’t want us to go to the vote!” deplored Mathilde Panot (La France insoumise), while among environmentalists, Cyrielle Chatelain judged this decision “unacceptable” and accused the executive “to organize (…) the fact that this Assembly cannot decide on the budget”.

A solemn vote was initially planned for Monday, November 17 at 3 p.m., on the part of the State budget devoted to revenue, an obligatory step before moving on to the portion devoted to expenditure. But thehe deputies are only at article 12 and, on Friday noon, they had more than 1,600 amendments to study before arriving at article 48, the last before being able to attack the “expenses” section. They have until Sunday, November 23 at midnight, before the text is sent to the Senate, as permitted by the Constitution. It now seems obvious that they will not have time to study the entire budget, and even a vote on the “revenue” aspect seems uncertain.

“We see the strategy of the government which does not want us to vote. It delays as much as possible the moment when everyone will have to reveal themselvesbreathes a deputy from the central bloc. I think it’s exaggerated to say that it’s because the deputies are tired and to put the blame on us.” As it stands, neither the Macronists, nor the far-right bloc, nor the left, would vote for the state budget. Even the socialist deputies, who continue to negotiate with the Prime Minister, Sébastien Lecornu, believe that “the account is not there”according to one of them.

For the Prime Minister, dragging out debates in the Assembly would make it possible to avoid a negative vote: on November 23 at midnight, even if the deputies have not completed their work, article 47-1 of the Constitution allows him to send the text to the Senate. “The government has such prerogatives in budgetary matters that it retains significant control of the sequencedeciphers the constitutionalist Thibaud Mulier. In this respect, the renunciation of 49.3 is not as substantial as presented by the Prime Minister.”

This is the scenario that occurred for the Social Security budget. “There is a slow race to avoid going to the vote, in the interest of both the government and the PS”observed to franceinfo a deputy from the Liot group on Wednesday, on the very last day of the examination of the Social Security financing bill (PLFSS). “On the side of the socialists and the government, there is the desire to let the debates drag onanalyzed a deputy from the central bloc. The government fears an unfavorable vote. As for the PS, this allows it not to show its support through a public vote.” Such a vote would put the Socialists in a delicate position: if they abstain or vote against, they risk seeing their own amendments go to waste, while voting for the entire budget is politically unthinkable for an opposition group.

As the amendments were examined, the socialists were able to vote for some of their demands, such as the suspension of the pension reform. But they did not have to decide on the Social Security budget as a whole since on Wednesday, at midnight, the government chose to use article 47-1 to send the text to the senators.

“The socialists want it to end like the PLFSS”now believes an environmentalist deputy. Same suspicions within the central block. The suspension of debates this weekend is “a request from the groups and in particular from the PS, but they do not accept”suspects an influential deputy who judges that it is indeed Matignon who “by hand”. “The government is pushing back the clock as much as possible to make the socialists think about censorship and approach the municipal elections. It is cornering them”agrees a deputy from the common base, who believes that time is on the side of supporters of non-censorship. As if to respond to criticism, Sébastien Lecornu declared on Friday from Albi (Tarn): “There must be a budget voted on in the National Assembly.” “There is no malice on the part of the government”also defended Minister Mathieu Lefèvre, interviewed Friday morning on franceinfo. “There are still five working days left”he added. “We are only responding to the requests made by the majority of groups in the Assembly”sweeps the entourage of Laurent Panifous.

At the rose party, an elected official ensures that the group was “mixed”on the weekend break. Thursday evening, the socialists were not among those who called for a break in the hemicycle, and the deputy Philippe Brun laconically said “regret” the government’s decision. “But the debate was becoming mediocre, unnecessarily aggressive, there were even voting errors”assures Laurent Baumel, PS deputy. “The final vote is a way of legally consecrating a text, but what is important is that Sébastien Lecornu and Amélie de Montchalin have promised that everything that is voted on in the Assembly will go(he) in the Senate”continues the elected official from Indre-et-Loire.

In other words, this takeover of the calendar does not bother the socialists so much as long as they have the guarantee that the amendments they have adopted will remain in the budgetary copy. Especially since they continue to negotiate in parallel to add measures. “I’m not making this vote (on the PLF) an end in itself, the goal is to have a fairer budget, which defends purchasing power, tax justice and public servicesbelieves another socialist deputy. The rebels make it a question of principle, but whether there is a vote or not, it does not keep me from sleeping at night.” Sleep has become a rare commodity for MPs anyway, some of whom are at least grateful to the government for one thing: “I plan to sleep, the break will be welcome”, smiles an elected official.