By Elizabeth Pineau and Leigh Thomas

PARIS, Jan 7 (Reuters) - French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu is making a fresh attempt to pass the 2026 budget without breaking his pledge to avoid forcing it through parliament, but lawmakers say he may have no choice, risking another dangerous no-confidence vote.

Lawmakers passed emergency legislation before the holidays to keep the state running after failing to approve the budget. But as they reconvene on Thursday to make a fresh stab at the bill, their positions remain too far apart for it to pass by vote, many of them said.

Finance Minister Roland Lescure and Budget Minister Amelie de Montchalin, who want the budget passed by the end of January, met with key Socialist and conservative lawmakers for four hours on Tuesday to seek common ground before the lower house resumes its review Thursday.

If they cannot narrow differences, Lecornu's only hope of passing the budget would be to invoke article 49.3 of the constitution, breaking his promise not to ram it through without a vote. Such a move would inevitably trigger a no-confidence vote that could bring down his minority government unless the Socialists abstain.

"The government is hoping to avoid being toppled by throwing the Socialists some crumbs," said Eric Coquerel, the hard-left chair of the finance commission in the lower house.

FRANCE HAS EURO ZONE'S BIGGEST DEFICIT    

Investors and ratings agencies are scrutinising France's finances as Lecornu struggles to chart a path to a fiscal deficit of under 3% of GDP by 2029. He has little room for manoeuvre in the fractious parliament, where budget battles have already toppled three governments since President Emmanuel Macron lost his majority in 2024.

The government wants to cut the deficit to 5.0% of GDP from an estimated 5.4% last year - the euro zone's highest. The Senate sent back a revised text with a 5.3% deficit, but Lescure warned the shortfall could reach 5.4% or more without restraint.

Socialists accuse conservatives who dominate the Senate of worsening the deficit by scrapping proposed tax hikes on big companies. They want those tax hikes reinstated and a freeze on welfare payments to be lifted.

"If they try to pass the budget in its current form, then the government will fall, that's for sure," said Socialist lawmaker Romain Eskenazi.

The Socialists face a delicate calculation to extract maximum concessions for abstaining on a no-confidence vote, but must also avoid looking reckless to voters ahead of March's municipal elections.

Conservative Republicains leader Bruno Retailleau said the Socialists' position makes it increasingly likely that the government would have to try to pass the budget by force.

"I don't think there is a version of the budget that could pass a vote in parliament," he told journalists.

(Reporting by Elizabeth Pineau and Leigh Thomas; Editing by Toby Chopra)