Economists Anne-Laure Delatte and Jean Pisani-Ferry share the observation of the need to straighten out France’s public accounts. “The priority is to lead the climate transition but to do it in a way that wakes up the economy, creates productivity gains and begins to close our growing gap with the United States.“, indicates the former president of France Stratégie Jean Pisani-Ferry. For CNRS researcher Anne-Laure Delatte, an economic program “serious” would be “a program which raises tax revenue to be able to reduce the public deficit and incur future expenditure” more “especially not austerity“.
Government failures
Anne-Laure Delatte points out budgetary policy “not serious“conducted by the government in recent years.”There have been reductions in public revenue, that is to say very substantial tax reductions which have not been offset by equivalent reductions in expenditure, half of the deficit that is.”analyzes the associate professor at Paris Dauphine-PSL University.
Jean Pisani-Ferry notes that the “pari“taken by the majority,”that by increasing the employment rate, we would straighten out the accounts“, a “failed“.
The program announced by the presidential camp for the early legislative elections seems difficult to apply for Anne-Laure Delatte, given the commitment made to the European Commission to “cut 60 billion in spending by 2027“. “Either he respects his commitment and what the program says today will not be applied, or he applies his program and does not respect his promise to the European Commission. The government seems pretty stuck to me.”
On the left, a program between radicalism and social democracy
The economic program of the New Popular Front is “a social democratic program” for Anne-Laure Delatte. “For this, you need recipes“, explains the researcher to the CNRS. “We looked at the program with colleagues and in our average scenario, we estimate revenues at 90 billion euros. With 90 billion in the coffers each year, you can both reduce the deficit and commit to future public spending. For me, that’s the promise of the New Popular Front.”
Jean Pisani-Ferry believes that this program needs to be clarified. “There is a social democratic reading and a much more radical reading which would be on the side of France Insoumise“, notes the former president of France Stratégie.
The vagueness of the RN
“The RN believes that, by a kind of miracle, the fact of French production, of reserving markets for French companies, will reduce the external deficit.r”, which is today “abyssal“, note Jean Pisani-Ferry.
The economic program of the National Rally is “difficult to analyzedeclares Anne-Laure Delatte “because there was some backpedaling“. “We have been told about a pension reform which will not take place, about an abolition of income tax for those under 30 which will not take place. What I remember is a reduction in VAT on energy products. However, it is very expensive and there is no revenue, which means that you are further widening the public deficit. warns the researcher.
