The motion of censure of December 4, 2024 put an end to the government of Michel Barnier. The latter brought with it the finance bill and the social security budget for 2025, and the other texts on the agenda. But the appointment, at the height of the end-of-year holidays, of a new government, allows us to glimpse a new parliamentary calendar.
The burning issue: the budget for 2025
The most burning issue of the young Bayrou government is the budget for 2025. With the social security budget, this text is urgent, because it could not be adopted before the deadline of December 31, 2024. The special law adopted definitively on December 18, 2024 allowed the State to continue to operate while renewing budgetary credits within the limit of those voted for 2024. No new measures are therefore possible. The finance and social security financing bills for 2025 are therefore the two most anticipated texts in Parliament in this new year. Negotiations surrounding the measures they will contain have already begun. The budget should nevertheless get back on track, based on the version that remained pending in the Senate in mid-January.
The emergency bill for Mayotte examined in February in the Senate
Another of the emergencies facing the Bayrou government is the situation in Mayotte. The archipelago, devastated by the passage of Cyclone Chido on December 15, is struggling to recover. An “emergency” bill will be presented this Wednesday to the Council of Ministers, after being announced by the Prime Minister. The text should contain various measures to meet the basic needs of residents after the passage of the cyclone. According to senatorial sources, it will be examined in session in the Senate at the beginning of February. The Minister of Overseas Territories, Manuel Valls, should be heard by senators at the end of January. A Mayotte “refoundation program” bill should also be presented to Parliament later.
The farm bill would be considered in the Senate in February
A year after the farmers' demonstrations, and while the Rural Coordination is mobilizing again, agriculture should find itself at the center of parliamentary debates in 2025. The agricultural bill, adopted by the National Assembly and initially planned for the mid-January by the Barnier government in the Senate, will be examined by the Upper House during the month of February, we learn from parliamentary sources. The Minister of Agriculture did not change between the Barnier and Bayrou governments, LR Annie Genevard kept her chair. A bill drafted by senators Laurent Duplomb and Franck Menonville aimed at “removing constraints on practicing the profession of farmer” will be studied in the hemicycle of the Palais du Luxembourg from January 14.
Another bill is on the Senate's agenda: it aims to extend the authorization to use meal vouchers in supermarkets. This possibility ended at the end of 2024, due to a lack of extension in the budget for 2025. On January 15, the Upper House will be able to vote on this text adopted by the National Assembly.
Proposed law to combat drug trafficking: an uncertain future
The bill to combat drug trafficking, resulting from the work of a senatorial commission of inquiry, drafted jointly by senator LR Etienne Blanc and socialist Jérôme Durain, has an uncertain future. Its resumption was announced by Bruno Retailleau, who remained Minister of the Interior, and Didier Migaud, former Minister of Justice. Although the text achieves consensus between the LR and the PS of the Senate, its authors have no confirmation of its inclusion on the agenda. The conference of Senate Presidents on Wednesday January 8 will set the parliamentary agenda for the coming weeks.
