Sébastien Lecornu and His Government Meet Before a Budgetary Trial by Fire

France’s government is heading into a closed-door meeting dominated by a budget that already looks nearly impossible to balance. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu is convening his full cabinet on Aug. 31, eight months before the presidential election, as the economy weakens and opposition parties threaten a no-confidence vote.

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a stronger response

The ministers will begin at the Élysée Palace with a cabinet meeting on the start of the school year. They will then move to the Hôtel des Invalides, where discussions will include the cyberattacks that disrupted the summer, including hacks targeting the tax administration and the Education Ministry. Lecornu has demanded “a stronger response” from the administration.

The rest of the meeting, held without mobile phones, will focus on the 2027 budget. Ministers are also expected to review the parliamentary timetable and the government’s communications strategy. Agriculture could take a prominent place in the discussions after fires, heatwaves and drought affected the country over the past three months. Lecornu has called agriculture the “number one issue of the new political season” and promised a “rescue plan” by the end of the year, followed by a “recovery plan” next year.

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number one issue of the new political season

Those commitments would add to spending already promised in the finance bill, due to be presented in late September. Six ministries, including Defence, the Interior, Justice, Education, Research and Ecology, have already been promised an additional 10 billion euros. Fuel assistance and energy vouchers may also be extended. At the same time, growth in the first half of the year has made the annual 0.7% forecast unattainable, while interest rates above 4% are increasing debt costs. The government faces the risk that the public deficit will exceed its target of 5% of gross domestic product.

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rescue plan