French government issues warning to RN over budget battle

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France’s government warned the Rassemblement National against acting recklessly after the far-right party issued a fresh ultimatum on budget concessions, the latest move in a fight that could bring down the administration.

Prime Minister Michel Barnier last night said he would scrap a plan to increase taxes on electricity, meeting one of the RN’s demands. But Marine Le Pen’s party has insisted all its “red line” demands would need to be met if the government wants to avoid a no-confidence vote as soon as next week.

The budget’s fate and that of Barnier’s administration remain largely in the hands of the RN, which is the biggest single party and a key voting bloc in the National Assembly.

“Do Le Pen and the RN really want to pass a budget for France? Or do [they] want to send France into the wall?” government spokesperson Maud Bregeon said on TV channel France 2 on Friday, adding that “it takes two to find compromises” after the prime minister made a “major concession” on the electricity tax.

The RN has made clear that it plans to keep up the pressure. “There are still difficulties. It’s Thursday. He has until Monday,” Le Pen warned in Le Monde newspaper on Thursday night.

France’s borrowing costs yesterday rose above those of Greece for the first time, as investors worry the government could fail to pass a belt-tightening budget. Rating agency S&P is due to make a decision on the country’s debt rating late on Friday.