French Budget Talks in Turmoil as Socialists Withdraw Over PM’s Immigration Remarks

France is planning 60 billion euros of spending cuts as well as tax hikes.

French Prime Minister François Bayrou at the Élysée Palace in Paris on Jan. 15, 2025. Sarah Meyssonnier/Reuters

French budget talks were thrown into doubt on Jan. 29 after Socialist Party officials suspended negotiations in protest over remarks about immigration made by Prime Minister François Bayrou.

In a television interview with French news channel LCI on Jan. 27, Bayrou said that the country is at risk of feeling overwhelmed by immigration.