Emmanuel Macron receives several ministers for lunch at the Elysée Palace to draw up a budget in his own style.

Back in control, continued. After finally expressing satisfaction with the proposals of the National Defense and Security Council on "Islamism, separatism, and infiltration," convened late Monday morning, July 7, Emmanuel Macron continued with a luncheon dedicated to the 2026 budget. Around the table at the Élysée Palace were Prime Minister François Bayrou, the Ministers of Economy and Public Accounts, Eric Lombard and Amélie de Montchalin, and their colleagues from Health and Labor, Catherine Vautrin and Astrid Panosyan-Bouvet.

Does the budget, a high political risk, really still have a place on the presidential agenda? Since he lost his majority in the legislative elections, the head of state is no longer supposed to have control over finances.