Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on February 8, 2026
3 min readLast updated: February 8, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleFrance's PM Lecornu sets a strategic agenda focusing on energy and defence after a budget battle, aiming for economic stability and modernization.
PARIS, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Less than a week after surviving a five-month-long battle over France's 2026 budget, Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu set out his agenda over the weekend, prioritising energy and defence.
Budget wrangling consumed French politics for nearly two years and cost two prime ministers before Lecornu was appointed in September.
"France has a budget that aims to reduce the deficit to 5% without raising taxes. Few believed it would happen in the autumn," Lecornu said.
Despite rising popularity and polls showing neither President Emmanuel Macron's centrists nor conservatives could defeat the far-right National Rally in the 2027 presidential election, Lecornu repeated he had no interest in running.
He added that a minor cabinet reshuffle would take place ahead of March local elections.
Here are Lecornu's priorities for the coming months.
ENERGY
The prime minister said the government's next "multi‑year energy programme" would be signed by decree by the end of next week, after more than two years of delays.
He confirmed that state-owned EDF will build six new nuclear reactors, with an option for eight others, while investment in renewable energy - including offshore wind, solar and geothermal power — would remain "ambitious".
"Next, we will need to consider incentives to speed up electrification. The goal is to ensure that 60% of our consumption in 2030 is electric."
DEFENCE
"Increasing the defence budget (57 billion euros or $67.35 billion), which will double between 2017 and 2027, is essential ... we must continue," Lecornu said.
He also said the military programming law would be updated by Bastille Day on July 14.
DECENTRALISATION
"The new international landscape and the state of our public finances make it urgent to refocus the state on certain tasks. It must therefore rely more clearly on other local public actors to exercise certain powers," Lecornu said.
He added that a bill containing 50 "simplification" measures would be submitted to parliament before the March local elections.
STATE MEDICAL AID
Lecornu pledged to maintain State Medical Aid (AME), a French social assistance scheme primarily covering the medical costs of undocumented migrants — which the far right has vowed to scrap if it comes to power in 2027.
However, he announced two decrees to reform the programme: one aimed at combating fraud, with savings of 180 million euros, and a second focused on modernising government IT systems to ensure all civil servants responsible for the scheme have access.
($1 = 0.8463 euros)
(Reporting by Elizabeth Pineau, Jean-Stephane Brosse and Benoit Van Overstraeten; Editing by Ros Russell)
A budget is a financial plan that outlines expected revenues and expenditures over a specific period, helping individuals or organizations manage their finances effectively.
Renewable energy is energy derived from natural sources that are replenished at a faster rate than they are consumed, such as solar, wind, and hydroelectric power.
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