The Socialist Party, willing to govern, presents its alternative budget

This plan, drawn up during the summer, should help to give credibility to the approach of the socialists, who will not vote confidence in François Bayrou on September 8, likely condemning him to be overthrown, and are asking Emmanuel Macron to appoint a left-wing Prime Minister.

"The good news in this period, this night, is that another way exists to respond to the emergency," declared the president of the PS group in the Assembly, Boris Vallaud, while presenting the broad outlines of this project, which deviates from the proposals of the New Popular Front during the legislative elections of summer 2024.

The plan aims to reduce the deficit by 21.7 billion euros in 2026, about half the 44 billion euros proposed by Prime Minister François Bayrou, with 14 billion euros in savings "without affecting workers and public services," and 26.9 billion euros in new revenue, weighing "first and foremost on the wealthy."

He aims to reduce the deficit to 5% in 2026, compared to 4.6% targeted by the government, and proposes to drop below the symbolic 3% mark by 2032 rather than 2029.

19.2 billion would be devoted to investment, supporting purchasing power and financing the immediate suspension of pension reform, with the Socialist Party once again promising to return the retirement age to 62, compared to 64 today.

The pink party is proposing a targeted reduction in the CSG (general social contribution) for salaries up to 1.4 times the minimum wage, offset by the creation of a 2% tax on assets of more than 100 million euros, inspired by economist Gabriel Zucman and expected to raise 15 billion euros.

"We'll nail him right away."

In his speech, Mr. Vallaud promised that if the left were appointed to Matignon, he would turn "to the deputies who were elected in the spirit of the Republican Front" to find a majority.

As a sign of the Socialists' goodwill towards the former majority, Socialist Party MP Philippe Brun promised that they would, in this case, adopt "the proposals in René Dosière's report aimed at putting an end to a certain number of undue advantages." Mr. Bayrou announced at the end of August that he had entrusted the former Socialist Party MP with a mission to identify these advantages, in response to numerous messages from the French.

The First Secretary of the Socialist Party, Olivier Faure, appeared on Friday evening to be making a statement as a candidate for Matignon, stating that the Socialists were "willing to be next", and asking the head of state "to respond to this proposal".

"It's not Bayrou or the apocalypse, from tomorrow it will be his project or ours," he said, as the Prime Minister multiplied his speeches to defend his budgetary strategy, urging the opposition to choose between responsibility or chaos.

François Bayrou will be interviewed again on Sunday by the country's four news channels, before consultations at Matignon with political parties starting on Monday.

Olivier Faure also promised "another way of governing, including a commitment not to use Article 49-3."

This "will force us to find compromises text by text," explained the socialist, who wants to bring his left-wing partners on board for a government "from Ruffin to Glucksmann," without LFI.

But the Ecologists, the former Insoumis and Générations pleaded on Thursday for a union identical to that of the New Popular Front (NFP) of 2024, that is to say with the Insoumis.

Except that the Insoumis don't want a left-wing Prime Minister, but rather the resignation of Mr. Macron. If the president "chooses a guy" to replace Mr. Bayrou, "we'll nail him down right away," warned Jean-Luc Mélenchon on Friday, asserting that "the goal is for him to leave and for us to have an early presidential election."

During a visit to the Châlons-en-Champagne Fair, RN president Jordan Bardella once again called for a return to the polls, saying that "we cannot go on like this for two years" and that Emmanuel Macron could be "forced" into a new dissolution due to the "blockages".