PARIS (Reuters) – France’s new prime minister, Francois Bayrou, said on Thursday he hoped to have a budget ready by mid-February, as he battles to avoid the fate of his predecessor Michel Barnier, whose government collapsed amid opposition to his budget measures.
“I hope to have a budget by mid-February,” Bayrou said on France 2 television.
Bayrou said he would keep open the option of using the 49.3 parliamentary clause – namely special constitutional powers – to get the budget through parliament if it looked as if opposition parties were trying to block it.
“I will not use the 49.3, unless the budget is being completely blocked,” he said.
Bayrou, similar to Barnier, has stated the importance of cutting France’s deficit, which is currently above limits set by the European Union.
Bayrou also said he hoped to have his new government ready by Christmas, and said he wanted acting Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau to remain in government.
“If we do not succeed this time around, it will be the last stop before we reach the cliff,” said Bayrou.
(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; editing by Diane Craft and Leslie Adler)
