All posts tagged: Amélie de Montchalin

Macron announces pick for new budget minister – POLITICO

Macron announces pick for new budget minister – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

PARIS — Emmanuel Macron has picked 33-year-old David Amiel to become France’s new budget minister, the French presidency announced on Sunday — a crucial role as the French government attempts to get its deficit under control amid a deep political crisis. Amiel replaces Amélie de Montchalin, a close ally of Macron who was appointed as head of France’s top court of auditors earlier this month. The controversial move led to accusations that the French president was politicizing a key French institution. Navigating budgetary debates has proven tricky since the 2024 general election in France, which led to a hung parliament. The French parliament ousted the two prime ministers who preceded current leader Sébastien Lecornu over their budgetary plans. In his first statement in his new role, Amiel said he would seek to ensure that the hard-fought budget for 2026, which was officially passed only last month, is properly rolled out. He also listed a series of aims including getting a better grip on tax evasion and welfare fraud. The current budget is expected to leave …

Macron’s pick to audit the French budget is the person who wrote it – POLITICO

Macron’s pick to audit the French budget is the person who wrote it – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Eric Coquerel, a lawmaker from the hard-left France Unbowed who chairs the National Assembly’s finance committee, said in a post on X that the danger had nothing to do with de Montchalin personally but the serious conflict of interest her nomination represents. “Everyone understands the danger that this institution, one in which the French people have confidence, would face,” Coquerel said. De Montchalin, 40, would also be guaranteed job security until the mandatory retirement age of 68, prompting speculation that her appointment was also a way to prevent a future president from the far-right National Rally, which is the front-runner in next year’s presidential race, from filling the post. Macron faced similar accusations on Monday following the news that Bank of France Governor François Villeroy de Galhau would quit his job in June. Had Villeroy seen out his term, the succession would have been in the gift of whoever follows Macron as president. National Rally heavyweight Jean-Philippe Tanguy suspected as much, saying: “I spend my life telling people that Macronism is illiberal and uses democracy …

French PM likely to survive budget high-wire act – POLITICO

French PM likely to survive budget high-wire act – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

France’s political extremes do not have enough lawmakers to bring down the government without the assistance of more centrist members of the opposition. Lecornu announced Monday he would expose his government to the possible no-confidence votes by invoking a constitutional backdoor to finalize France’s fiscal plans after months of deadlock. France entered the new year without a proper budget after lawmakers failed to adopt one in December but avoided a U.S.-style shutdown by rolling over last year’s budget into 2026. The maneuver Lecornu is using to enact a proper budget — Article 49.3 of the French constitution — allows the government to pass legislation without a parliamentary vote but in turn gives opposition lawmakers the opportunity to respond with no-confidence votes. Lecornu will Tuesday trigger Article 49.3 to pass the part of the budget that deals with tax revenue. If Lecornu’s government survives the motions of no confidence put forward in response, which are likely to be voted on Friday, it will immediately again trigger the article for the second part of the budget, which …

Budget nightmare pushes French PM toward risky options to end stalemate – POLITICO

Budget nightmare pushes French PM toward risky options to end stalemate – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

MPs returned from the holiday break with little more appetite to strike a deal, and the prospects of Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu’s minority government persuading a majority to back a budget — one that includes politically sensitive measures to rein in France’s chronic deficit — have all but evaporated. Lecornu in a Friday evening address attempted to get Socialists on board by promising 1 euro lunches for university students as well as more teachers in public schools. For the conservative Les Républicains, he agreed to their demand to abandon plans to increase taxes on pensioners and doubled down on his previous pledge not to increase taxes on households and companies. “The government will not give up on compromise,” he said. Lecornu’s office earlier sent a statement to reporters saying “continued sabotage” by France’s two largest opposition forces — the hard-left France Unbowed and the far-right National Rally — had made it impossible to pass a budget, even though these two parties don’t hold a majority of seats in parliament, and even though most lawmakers — …