French far-right pressures Barnier with 'counter-budget' proposals

PARIS (Reuters) - France's far-right leader Jordan Bardella said on Wednesday his party's budget proposals must be taken on board, raising the risk that Prime Minister Michel Barnier's minority government might otherwise face a no-confidence vote that could topple it.

The government last week presented its 2025 budget with plans for 60 billion euros ($65.68 billion) worth of spending cuts and tax hikes on the wealthy and big companies to tackle a spiralling fiscal deficit.

But lacking a majority in the National Assembly, Barnier will likely need to use special constitutional powers to push through the bill without a vote, which is likely to trigger a no-confidence vote.

With the most seats, Bardella's Rassemblement National (RN) holds the balance of power in the lower house of parliament, which means Barnier's government needs their tacit support if a no-confidence vote is brought before lawmakers.

The RN presented on Wednesday its own "counter-budget", claiming its proposals would yield extra savings of 15 billion euros next year by cutting some social welfare payments for foreigners and increasing taxes on share buybacks and the wealthy, among other measures.

"If Mr Barnier persists in following (President) Emmanuel Macron's policy, then this government will fall," Bardella told reporters during a visit to the Paris car show, saying his party demanded an end to Macron's "catastrophic" fiscal policies.

"Even before the question of a no-confidence vote arises, we intend to get as many of our measures adopted as possible, taking into account the social emergency and the difficulties our fellow citizens have in making ends meet, while at the same time making necessary savings," said Bardella.

Lawmakers were due to begin debating Barnier's high-stakes budget bill late on Wednesday in the lower house's finance committee with more than 1,700 amendments already proposed. The legislative process is likely to run until mid-December.

(Reporting by Tassilo Hummel; Editing by Leigh Thomas and Gareth Jones)