France: Retailleau and Wauquiez set a joint budget "common line"

The two rivals for leadership of the French right presented a joint position on the 2026 budget, demanding spending cuts and warning PM Lecornu they will withhold support otherwise — building on their 13-bill "legislative pact of emergency."

A case study in how a fractured centre-right in opposition converts budget arithmetic into leverage, with obvious parallels for the Conservatives' position in a hung-parliament scenario.