While François Bayrou is forming his cabinet, whose first task will be to agree on France's budget for the upcoming year, lawmakers are taking precautions in case this proves unsuccessful.
On Wednesday, the French Senate unanimously voted in favor of adopting an emergency law to allow the country to operate without a budget. On Monday, members of the lower house of parliament - the National Assembly - also expressed their support for this bill.
The special law will enable the executive branch to pay current expenses, collect taxes, and take out loans to finance the government and social welfare. This way, France will avoid a "shutdown" similar to that in the U.S., where non-essential government services close, and hundreds of thousands of employees are placed on unpaid leave.
In fact, the attempt to pass a stringent austerity budget for 2025 was one of the main reasons for the vote of no confidence against Michel Barnier's government, which faced united opposition from both the left coalition and the far-right "National Rally."
The new Prime Minister met with the leaders of 11 factions in the National Assembly on Monday and Tuesday, starting his discussions with the leaders of the "National Rally" - Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella.
After their conversation, Le Pen welcomed François Bayrou's "more positive approach" to negotiations with the opposition and expressed hope that work on a proportional electoral system, which the new Prime Minister also advocates, could begin "immediately after the budget is adopted."