French lower house rejects massively amended 2025 budget

French MPs on Tuesday rejected a draft government budget that had been massively amended with new taxes by the opposition, as the heavily indebted country is under pressure to balance the books. With the cobbled-together revenue bill's swingeing tax increases failing to pass the National Assembly, Prime Minister Michel Barnier's minority government now has a largely free hand in submitting a cleaned-up text to the Senate upper house, before the two chambers come together to seek a compromise. FRANCE 24's Marc Perelman tells us more.