News Digest: Vote of Confidence for French PM & Pensioners No Longer Qualify for Citizenship?

After a lengthy 8-week break, it’s time for schoolchildren across the country to head back to school – known in France as La Rentrée. Schools officially reopen next Monday, September 1st, which makes this weekend the final weekend of the summer holidays – expect extra traffic on the motorways, as well as long lines at your local supermarket as parents rush to purchase any remaining stationery and supplies for the first day back.

La Rentrée isn’t just for school children, though. It’s equally for workers, many of whom enjoyed long breaks over July or August, accompanied by a slowing down of business activity (unless you work in the hospitality and tourism industries, that is!). La Rentrée also means that parliament will be back in session and local clubs and activities will start back up – so it’s a great time to join an association, sign up for a gym, or take up a new hobby.

Read our guides:

What is La Rentrée in France? Back to School, Work & Activities!

French School Holidays – 2025/2026 Dates for Your Calendar

It wouldn’t be la rentrée without another political crisis looming on the horizon, and French Prime Minister François Bayrou delivered just that in a press conference yesterday (Monday, August 25th). As parliament is set to begin debates on Bayrou’s much-contested 2026 Budget, the Prime Minister announced that he would be subjecting himself to a vote of confidence – a move usually reserved for the opposing parties.

The vote will take place on September 8th, with Bayrou hoping to gain support for his Budget, which includes several unpopular measures to reduce France’s spiralling debt, including the proposal to cut public holidays and an “année blanche” (where tax thresholds wouldn’t be adjusted for inflation).

It may seem like a bold move, but Bayrou’s hands are tied – he is almost certain to face a series of censure motions from the opposition once debates begin and, as he made clear in his speech, his focus is for parliament to have an “adult debate” on how to tackle France’s deficit in the 2026 budget. The implication is that if the opposing parties aren’t willing to enter a serious debate in which they accept “modest sacrifice now to avoid a debilitating fiscal crisis in the near future”, then they may as well show their hand from the start.

As it stands, it seems unlikely that Bayrou will survive the vote with both La France Insoumise and the Rassemblement National saying they will vote against him, but this is French politics, so nothing is certain… as always, we’ll keep you updated as we learn more.

France’s postal service, La Poste, put a pause yesterday (Monday) on all parcel deliveries to the United States as they navigate the new regulations put in place by President Trump’s new tariffs.

From August 29th, all goods entering the United States from the European Union will be subject to customs duties of 15%, except for non-commercial gifts under the value of US$100 sent between individuals. However, although the new tariffs will come into play by the end of the week, La Poste and other EU postal services have complained that:“Despite discussions with US customs services, no delay has been granted to postal operators to organise and ensure the IT developments necessary to comply with the new rules set”.

La Poste follows several other European postal services, including Deutsche Post in Germany, Bpost in Belgium, and Correos in Spain, in pausing US deliveries, and PostEurop, the European association of 51 postal services, has also raised the issue with US authorities. It is not yet clear when this pause will be lifted, but if you have items that must be sent urgently to the US in the meantime, private postal services such as FedEx and UPS still appear to be operating. However, make sure that you understand the new regulations and whether customs duties will be charged to the recipient.

If you’ve been following our recent News Digests and my French Citizenship series, then you’ll have already heard about the recent changes to the acceptance criteria for French Citizenship applications. While bigger changes, like the new language requirements, won’t come into action until 2026, some smaller changes to how prefectures “interpret” the eligibility criteria are already in action, following a memo sent around to prefectures by French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau in April this year.

Two key changes are that prefectures have been told to reject applicants without a minimum of five years of work experience in France, as well as those who receive a majority of their income from foreign sources. While professional integration and income have always been key requirements of French citizenship applications, there were no concrete guidelines as to what this meant, and the focus was usually on demonstrating sufficient and stable income. This allowed the prefectures much more flexibility to assess the candidate’s situation in its entirety, allowing for periods of study, for example, and taking into account a candidate’s age and their complete financial profile. Previously, there were no issues with income being foreign-sourced, provided that the candidate could demonstrate that they are fully integrated into France and that the centre of their life and economic interests is in France.

However, recently several candidates have had their applications rejected (many after waiting several months or years for a response), most notably several pensioners who receive a pension from the UK, the US, or other foreign countries. While there were hopes that this might be a mistake or a misinterpretation of the rules, the French Interior Ministry has now confirmed that the rules stand. A spokesperson said: “There was previously a measure of goodwill for people over the age of 65 whose income came mainly from abroad that allowed foreigners to obtain French nationality. The May 2025 memo removes this tolerance, specifying that, with only a few exceptions, applications from applicants whose income primarily comes from abroad will be refused.” They also confirmed that “It does not matter whether the applicant is retired or still working.”

Understandably, this is a hard pill to swallow for the many retirees in France who hoped to apply – or who have already applied – for citizenship, many of whom have been living and paying taxes in France for over a decade.