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Explainer-What happens if French social security bill fails
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on December 9, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 20, 2026
Global Banking and Finance Review
Company
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on December 9, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 20, 2026
A failed vote on France's social security bill could lead to political instability, budget delays, and a significant financial deficit.
PARIS, Dec 9 (Reuters) - A vote against France's 2026 social security budget on Tuesday could plunge the minority government into deeper political crisis while leaving welfare, pension and healthcare spending in limbo.
Here is what is at stake.
WHAT HAPPENS TO THE LEGISLATION?
If the National Assembly, parliament's lower house, rejects the bill, the government could resubmit it or return it to the Senate, but time is short with the broader state budget for 2026 also still pending.
If the bill is delayed, the 2025 social security budget would roll into 2026 until new legislation for 2026 is adopted. Welfare and pensions would adjust for inflation, but the suspension of the 2023 pension reform - a key government concession - would lapse.
A vote next year could be just as fraught, with parties gearing up for nationwide municipal elections in March.
"I don't think it will be any better if we come back (to vote) in January or February," said Marc Fesneau, head of the MoDem party in parliament that is allied with the government.
WHAT'S THE POLITICAL FALLOUT LIKELY TO BE?
Defeat would leave Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu, already one of modern France's weakest heads of government, vulnerable to no-confidence votes.
It also clouds prospects for the state budget now under review in the Senate, where heavy amendments are expected.
A joint committee of lawmakers from both houses must then agree on a final text that has to be passed in the lower house by December 23; failure would force stopgap measures to keep spending, borrowing and taxation running into the new year until a proper budget is passed.
WHAT'S THE FINANCIAL COST?
Lecornu has warned that rejection could blow a 30 billion euro ($35 billion) hole in the social security budget. The original deficit was 17 billion euros, but concessions have pushed it near 20 billion in the last version of the bill, Health Minister Stephanie Rist said.
($1 = 0.8595 euros)
(Reporting by Elizabeth Pineau and Leigh ThomasEditing by Frances Kerry)
A budget deficit occurs when expenses exceed revenues, leading to a shortfall that must be financed through borrowing or other means.
Pension reform refers to changes made to pension systems to ensure their sustainability and adequacy, often involving adjustments to benefits, contributions, or eligibility.
Inflation is the rate at which the general level of prices for goods and services rises, eroding purchasing power and affecting economic stability.
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