French Senate approves bill to roll over budget, thereby avoiding shutdown

The French Senate formally approved on Wednesday a special law designed to maintain core state functions and prevent any interruption of public services, following an earlier approval by the lower house of parliament last week.

The law is intended to act as a stopgap until France's deeply divided parliament passes next year's proper budget bill drafted by the new government. This budget bill is most likely due in early 2025.

The veteran centrist Francois Bayrou, named as Prime Minister last week after the sudden collapse of his predecessor Michel Barnier's government, needs to get the budget through parliament, with France under pressure to cut its deficit.

Lawmakers' pushback over the 2025 budget bill led to Barnier's downfall and left-wing leaders say they may try to topple Bayrou should he also use special constitutional powers to ram through the budget without a vote in parliament.