“I am neither in flip-flops nor on the beach.” In the political and economic fog that currently persists in France, Bruno Le Maire was keen to remind, with humor, that he was still in charge and that his mission to restore public finances remained intact. In all likelihood, the Minister of the Economy will have to give up the position he has occupied for seven years now, in the coming weeks, if not in the coming days. To a personality from the left, the center or the right? Whatever the answer, there is no question of him giving up. To meet the government’s target of a 5.1% deficit in 2024, Bruno Le Maire unveiled a new round of 10 billion euros in savings this Thursday.
This second round of budgetary tightening since the beginning of the year was already in the pipeline. Due to the dissolution, it had been pushed to the background. But as the fateful hour of departure approaches, the tenant Bercy is firing its last bullets. And surprise: once again, Bercy is revising its savings needs upwards. In total, 25 billion euros less will be needed in 2024 – compared to 20 billion euros previously – to maintain the trajectory set by the stability program sent to Brussels. In February, an initial decree had made it possible to cancel 10 billion euros of credits. Another five billion euros have, it seems, already been executed, without further details from Bercy.
The ball is in the future government’s court
This Thursday, the minister announced that he would sign “a letter notifying all ministries of their spending ceiling”. All new credits exceeding these thresholds will now be frozen. The key is a saving of five billion euros for the State. In addition, three billion euros are expected via a new version of the contribution on inframarginal rents, this tax on superprofits from electricity. However, a vote in Parliament will be needed during the 2024-2025 budget to validate it. Here again, it is difficult at the moment to set the measure in stone in the face of political uncertainty.
Finally, an effort of 2 billion euros is demanded from local authorities. But without a binding instrument, the request is only an incentive. This plan, announced in the last moments, has all the hallowed airs of a last hurrah for Bruno Le Maire. “I am fulfilling my role as Minister of Finance to the end and I will leave the accounts in order,” he declared. However, there is no guarantee that the future executive will maintain the measures announced. “The technical work will have been done. It is up to the next government to take them up or not. Otherwise, this would irremediably distance us from restoring our public finances,” warns the current minister. A form of “take it or leave it” that is more like a hot potato than a real decision that would facilitate the affairs of the next government. The Minister of Economy makes no secret of the fact that if the budgetary trajectory is not respected at the end of the year and Brussels steps up to the plate, the fault will lie with his successor and him alone.