French Prime Minister Sébastian Lecornu on Friday vowed to forgo an infamous article of the constitution that would have allowed him to steamroller a budget bill through parliament without a vote – but left him vulnerable to a vote of no confidence. The move means MPs must agree a compromise before time runs out to pass a budget at the end of the year.
Lecornu said he would not resort to a special clause in Article 49.3 of the French constitution – invoked by several of his recent predecessors – because it "essentially allows the government to halt debates".
