French Finance Minister Eric Lombard warned on 26 August that the International Monetary Fund could be forced to intervene if Prime Minister Francois Bayrou’s minority government loses a 8 September confidence vote in the National Assembly. Lombard said he was “certainly not resigned” to the government’s fall but acknowledged the risk “cannot be pretended not to exist.” The minister later sought to calm financial markets, emphasising that France is “today under no threat of intervention by the IMF or the European Central Bank” and that the sovereign continues to finance itself without difficulty. Public Accounts Minister Amélie de Montchalin echoed the message, saying France must avoid “jumping into the void” as it drafts the 2026 budget. Bayrou plans to ask lawmakers to endorse a four-year fiscal programme designed to trim the deficit to 5.4% of GDP in 2025 and 2.8% by 2029 through sweeping spending cuts. Three main opposition parties have signalled they will vote against the plan, raising the prospect of the government’s collapse. Investor unease is already visible: Paris’s CAC 40 index was down roughly 1.6% at about 14:00 GMT on Tuesday, and bond yields have crept higher. Lombard said preserving market confidence is essential to prevent borrowing costs from overtaking those of Italy and to sustain investment needed for growth.