Jordan Bardella of the Rassemblement National is threatening to bring down the French government

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Jordan Bardella, the head of France’s Rassemblement National party, warned on Monday that it would not rule out lowering the government’s budget that Prime Minister Michel Barnier said was needed to deal with the country’s debt pile.

Conversation between Barnier and RN to find a compromise on the budget plan stood before the main votes of the National Assembly expected later on Monday, raising the risk that the small government could fall as soon as this week.

The future of the budget and Barnier’s administration remain in the hands of Marine Le Pen’s right wing. RNthe largest party and the largest voting bloc in the National Assembly.

“The RN will launch a vote of impeachment unless there is a last minute miracle and Barnier changes his draft law from now until 3pm,” Bardella told RTL radio on Monday.

“I don’t have much hope that he will because of the way he has ignored us and insulted us (and our views) in recent months.”

Since his appointment as Prime Minister in September, Barnier has been scrambling to pass a €60bn investment of 2025, including a large increase in taxes, all aimed at reducing the deficit which is about 6 percent of the country’s output.

Investors very worried that they fail to do so, plunging France deeper into political instability as the economy suffers.

French bonds, which briefly outperformed Greece’s last week, rose sharply on Monday, with the 10-year yield rising 0.02% to 2.91%. Yields move inversely with prices.

The spread, or spread, above German yields – a key measure of the riskiness of French bonds – rose to 0.85 percent, after hitting a 12-year high of 0.9 last week.

French shares were lower in early trading on Monday, with the benchmark Cac 40 down 0.9%. The euro weakened 0.6 percent to $1.0510.

Le Pen insisted All of the RN’s “red” demands must be met if the government wants to avoid a vote of no confidence. On Sunday, the minister of finance Antoine Armand said that no changes will be made to the bill that is concerned with security, one of the three items that make up the budget, although the government spokesman said on Monday morning that he is “still open” to continue negotiations with. and RN.

Without a majority in parliament, budgeting has been difficult for Barnier, forcing him to make concessions not only to the RN but also to MPs in his own camp. The tweaks will cut around €10bn of planned spending from the social security budget and could put Barnier’s goal of reducing the deficit to 5 percent by the end of 2025.

On Thursday, Barnier abandoned the increase in energy taxes, which is strongly opposed by the RN and other parties. But Le Pen continued to make other demands such as the temporary suspension of pension plans or the reimbursement of medicines and doctor’s visits.

If Barnier’s government is voted out this week, it would be the second time French lawmakers have done so since the Fifth Republic was founded in 1958. It would also make Barnier the longest-serving prime minister in the same period.