French Prime Minister François Bayrou has asked the National Assembly to hold a confidence vote on 8 September after unveiling a draft 2026 budget that seeks roughly €44 billion in savings to curb a public debt that has climbed above €3.3 trillion. In a televised interview he conceded that, “today, a priori, we cannot obtain confidence,” but said he is ready to negotiate on every point except the need to reduce indebtedness. He plans to meet party leaders from 1 September in an effort to build support. President Emmanuel Macron told ministers he gives Bayrou his “full support,” arguing that parties which vote against the government will shirk their responsibility. Yet opposition blocs spanning the far left and the far right have already signalled they will reject the motion, and an Ifop poll for LCI found 63 % of voters would prefer to dissolve parliament and hold new elections. Bayrou himself said a second dissolution would be unlikely to deliver stability. The political standoff is unsettling investors. Paris’s CAC 40 has fallen more than 3 % this week, while the spread between French and German 10-year bond yields widened to about 79 basis points, its widest since April. A government spokeswoman insisted that “France is solid,” but Finance-Ministry warnings that the country could eventually need IMF assistance and remarks by Carrefour Chief Executive Alexandre Bompard about a renewed recession risk amplified market unease. If Bayrou loses the 8 September vote, scenarios under discussion include appointing a new prime minister, calling yet another snap election or seeking a cross-party caretaker arrangement. For now, the premier says his objective is “an accord, not force,” but concedes that failure to secure one would almost certainly topple his eight-month-old government.