Former Prime Minister Gabriel Attal assured the Senate on Friday November 8 that he had taken “strong decisions” when he was at Matignon to curb the budget slippage. “We have had alerts [sur la dégradation des finances publiques] and we took, I believe, strong decisions”affirmed the former head of government, heard by the senators as part of an information mission on the drift in public accounts, before a commission of inquiry at the National Assembly.
“We revised the growth forecast, we increased the deficit target, we decided to make 20 billion euros in savings during the year, and we prepared a state budget with 15 billion euros. 'euros savings'argued Mr. Attal, now leader of the Macronist deputies Ensemble pour la République (EPR, ex-Renaissance). “I don’t believe that in the past, over such a short period of time, a government has identified and dared to make so many savings”he insisted, believing that he had “a high awareness of the tension on our public finances” when he was Rue de Varenne.
Gabriel Attal, on the other hand, found “scandalous” the “political, media trial” made to the former Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire, welcoming his “obsession with getting France out of debt”.
Also read the story | Article reserved for our subscribers “We’ve had enough, let’s talk about something other than public finances!” »: at the heart of the budgetary slippage of Emmanuel Macron's second five-year term
Read later
Bruno Le Maire defends himself from any “mistake” or “concealment”
The Senate, whose right and center majority was in opposition until the appointment of Michel Barnier to Matignon, had been very offensive in recent years against Bercy and Mr. Le Maire, regularly accused “insincerity” et “opacity” towards Parliament. On Thursday, the former Minister of the Economy refuted before the same senators any ” mistake ” or “concealment” faced with the significant deterioration of France's public finances.
The public deficit is expected at 6.1% of gross domestic product (GDP) this year, a figure very far from the 4.4% forecast in the fall of 2023 and the 5.1% forecast in the spring, after reassessment by the previous executive. It would only fall below the 3% of GDP authorized by the European Union in 2029, making France a bad student of the Union. This slippage raised questions about the reliability of the forecasts of the previous Macronist majority.
Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers “Faced with budgetary slippage, Bruno Le Maire does not seem to have thought of what may seem obvious: resigning with a bang”
Read later
The Senate must also hear Gabriel Attal's predecessor, Elisabeth Borne, on November 15. The upper house will consider, starting next week, the draft 2025 budget and the “60 billion” of euros in savings that he plans.
