France faces government collapse amid budget standoff

France’s Socialist Party has threatened to topple the government if its budget demands are not met by the deadline.

According to Reuters, the Socialists announced on Friday, October 24, 2025, that they would submit a no-confidence motion next week unless the wealthy are required to pay higher taxes.

Olivier Faure, the Socialist Party leader, stated: “We’ve tried not to attack the prime minister, but so far, we’ve seen no sign of willingness to compromise. If nothing changes by Monday, it’s over.”

Given the highly fractured composition of the French parliament, the Socialists could bring down Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu’s weak minority government if they join forces with both the far-left and far-right blocs — each of which has already declared its intention to oust him.

Lecornu initially won Socialist support by promising to roll back major pension reforms, but the party is now demanding further concessions.

Meanwhile, debates over the 2026 budget began in the French National Assembly on Friday.

According to The Guardian, France is not alone in its political turmoil — faith in democratic governance worldwide is eroding.

In France, the populist right offers what it claims is a solution by “turning back the clock,” while President Emmanuel Macron and his allies are under pressure to find a different response.

The crisis took an almost absurd turn when Sébastien Lecornu unexpectedly resigned, only to be reappointed shortly afterward.

His 27-day tenure as prime minister was shorter than Liz Truss’s disastrous term, making him the shortest-serving French prime minister in modern history.

France’s ongoing political crisis unfolds amid economic difficulties and a parliamentary stalemate; both rooted in Macron’s shocking June 2024 decision to dissolve the National Assembly.