Guest of the show The Event on France 2 this Thursday evening, Prime Minister Michel Barnier detailed several measures present in his government program. A very sensitive subject, the question of an increase in taxes for the most fortunate as well as for certain companies was addressed, while the executive must unveil next week its draft budget for 2025. These tax increases will allow, according to him “to recover 2 billion euros”. Michel Barnier also promised to “take a break” on standards in agriculture before focusing on the civil service, indicating his desire to “merge public services” and “not replace all civil servants”.
The head of government also made a point of clarifying that it was he who “set the line” on immigration after controversial remarks from Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, particularly on the rule of law.
These companies affected by tax increases
Some “300 companies” will be affected by tax increases for a year or two, said Michel Barnier, refuting any “fiscal shock”. “We are going to ask for an effort from the largest companies which make more than 1 billion (Editor’s note: euros in turnover) and a temporary exceptional effort,” explained the Prime Minister. The “time” of this additional contribution “will be fixed in the law”, and “it will be one year and perhaps two years”, he specified. “But there will be no new taxes on almost all of the 4 million companies,” he said.
For these companies, “there will be efforts on the aid that (they) receive for allowances, social charges that we will try to better adjust so that they are more effective, so that they do not constitute not traps on low wages, as is the case today,” added Michel Barnier.
The wealthiest people also affected
The Prime Minister also announced that the tax increases which will target the wealthiest people will “recover 2 billion euros”. This concerns, for example, a couple with a tax income of 500,000 euros per year “but not below”, according to him. “The effort that we are going to ask for is based on a tax system on very high incomes which was put in place by François Fillon and Nicolas Sarkozy a few years ago. We are going to add something to this system for exceptional participation and temporary of the most fortunate people”, added the head of government. “In the effort we are going to make to reduce the debt, 60 billion (euros), there will be a two-thirds reduction in public spending. And it will be very hard,” warned the Prime Minister.
Civil servants in the viewfinder
“We are going to merge public services. We will probably not replace all the civil servants when they are not in direct contact with citizens, all the civil servants who retire.” Michel Barnier also questioned learning where “we fortunately and positively spend a lot of money”. “We will see if certain learning aids cannot be targeted,” he said. He also mentioned the “billions” spent on medical transport. “Can’t we do better or just as well with a little less money?” he asked.
A “single social allowance” project
Prime Minister Michel Barnier also announced his intention to launch “for next year” a “single social allowance” project. The objective of this measure will be “so that at the end of this work, it pays more to work than not to work”, he declared, specifying that this “project will take a little time “. Michel Barnier considered that “work must pay more than the addition of benefits”. But also that it was necessary to “debureaucratize” the allowances and “perhaps sometimes increase some of them”, such as for example that intended for “people with disabilities”. The Prime Minister added that he had not “found any concrete proposals on this subject” of the single allocation.
This project is one of those presented on Wednesday by Laurent Wauquiez, president of the Republican Right deputies (ex-LR). With his troops, he recommends a “single social allowance capped” at “70% of the minimum wage”, intended according to him to fight against “welfare”.
Agriculture: a “break on standards”
The Prime Minister finally promised to “take a break from standards” to “encourage” farmers affected by the crises. “These farmers who are affected by health crises, poor harvests, deserve to be encouraged. They are fed up. Fed up with constraints, rules and controls. So we are going to take a break on standards”, he declared on France 2. “They work a lot in a vital way to sustain, to feed the French with healthy, balanced, diversified, traceable food”, underlined Michel Barnier who was minister of Agriculture from 2007 to 2009 under the presidency of Nicolas Sarkozy.
The Prime Minister must go this Friday, October 4 to the Livestock Summit in Cournon-d’Auvergne (Puy-de-Dôme), to a profession whose herds are affected by several diseases for his second trip to the province after the firefighters’ congress in Mâcon on Saturday. On Wednesday, he received the boss of the powerful agricultural union FNSEA, Arnaud Rousseau, in Matignon.
In his general policy declaration on Tuesday Michel Barnier promised to “support” farmers “when they are hit by crises, whether climatic or health-related, as is the case at the moment with bluetongue”. He also announced that his government would “resume without delay” the draft orientation law for agricultural sovereignty, which had been modified after the sector’s demonstrations in early 2024. But its examination had been interrupted by the dissolution. This bill places agriculture as a major general interest, sets up a one-stop shop for the establishment of new farmers, and facilitates the construction of livestock buildings or water reserves.
Immigration: “I’m the one who sets the line”
“It’s me who sets the line” on immigration, and “there will be rigorous measures to control it”, assured Michel Barnier after controversial remarks from the Minister of the Interior Bruno Retailleau, in particular on the rule of law.
The Prime Minister seemed to rule out the idea of a new law on immigration, as demanded by the leader of the National Rally deputies Marine Le Pen. “I’m not going to announce laws in advance,” he said, but “maybe there will be changes to the (current) law if necessary.” “I’m not going to get into big ideological debates.”