Following the downgrading of the French debt rating by the Standard & Poor’s agency, the Minister of the Economy and Finance assured that the restoration of public finances would not result in tax increases.
The boss of Bercy reaffirms his course of action to straighten out the public accounts. While the Standard & Poor’s agency downgraded the French debt rating from “AA” to “AA-” on Friday, Bruno Le Maire responded to questions from BFMTV as to the consequences of this opinion rendered by the rating agency. He gave the main points of his strategy to restore public finances, notably ruling out any tax increase next year. “Increasing taxes is not part of the range of options,” he stressed. “We want to reduce public spending where it is least effective and least fair and by reaching out to oppositions to see where are the margins for maneuver in public spending.”
“There will be more money for those who work in one form or another: lower taxes, fewer charges. We will look at that with Prime Minister Gabriel Attal but it is the heart of my economic policy: those who work must live better.”
The Minister of Economy and Finance thus recalled some of his decisions to restore purchasing power to workers such as the tax-free bonus, exemptions from charges on overtime, the increase in the activity bonus or even interest and participation.
“I saved the French economy”
At the microphone of BFMTV, Bruno Le Maire renewed his serenity regarding a return of the public deficit below 3%, recalling that “three rating agencies had maintained the French rating and recognized the solidity of the strategy for restoring our public finances. ” “There is doubt about the debt because we have had a certain liability in France for several decades,” he explained. “We have not had a balanced budget since 1975.”
“My asset is to have restored the public accounts in 2017, 2018 and 2019. I therefore have a certain credibility to tell you that we will return below 3% in 2027.”
The minister highlighted the 10 billion euros in savings in state spending decided at the start of the year and his desire to seek 10 billion additional cuts in 2024. The minister once again justified, on a very personal tone, the widening of deficits since 2020 due to expenditure linked to the Covid crisis and the energy tariff shield. “If today we have a high level of debt, that’s why? It’s because I saved the French economy,” he said. “I saved the factories, I saved the restaurateurs, I saved the hoteliers, I saved the world of events, I saved jobs, skills, the aeronautical industry,” he said. he listed, adding to the list that he was proud to have also saved Renault and Air France.
