Jordan Bardella, President of the French far-right Rassemblement National (National Rally - RN) party gestures as he speaks during a political rally in Nice, France, October 6, 2024. REUTERS/Manon Cruz/File Photo
PARIS (Reuters) -France's far-right National Rally (RN) party will likely back a no-confidence motion against the government in the coming days unless there is a "last minute miracle," RN president Jordan Bardella said on Monday.
RN lawmaker Marine Le Pen has given Prime Minister Michel Barnier until Monday to yield to the party's budget demands or face the possibility of RN backing a no-confidence motion against his government, which would lead to its collapse.
"The RN will trigger the no-confidence vote mechanism unless there is a last minute miracle if (PM) Michel Barnier revises his copy," Bardella told RTL radio.
Barnier dropped a planned electricity tax increase last week, but the RN also wants him to raise pensions in line with inflation, whereas he had aimed to increase some of them less than inflation to save money.
The RN is calling for planned cuts to medication reimbursements to be scrapped and is unhappy the government may raise the tax on gas. It also wants a reduction in France's contribution to the European Union's budget.
The standoff in the government could come to a head as early as Monday if Barnier has to use aggressive constitutional powers to force a social security financing bill through, which would inevitably trigger a no-confidence motion from the left.
French government spokesperson Maud Bregeon told CNews television the government remained "open to dialogue" and that it was in the interests of the country that France had a budget and did not fall into financial and economic chaos.
"I am very worried about what would happen in coming days and months...... who will come to France to set up a business or a plant amid such uncertainty?" she asked.
France is facing a difficult financial and economic situation due to the risk its budget may be blocked in parliament, Pierre Moscovici, head of France's public audit office, said on Monday.
"Our financial situation today is dangerous," Moscovici told France 2 television.
(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon;Additional reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Ed Osmond and Bernadette Baum)
