With its promise, made Thursday in the Senate, of a saving of more than 30 billion euros on the “expenditure” section of the finance bill for 2025, the Bayrou government has reached a new milestone in its quest for savings. . The desire is to reduce the deficit to 5.4% of GDP next year, a little more than what Michel Barnier's government planned (5%). “A historic effort,” Amélie de Montchalin, Minister of Public Accounts, assured on TF1 on Wednesday. “It’s the biggest effort to cut spending in twenty-five years.”
Savings, yes, but how? The Minister of the Economy, Eric Lombard, came to the Senate on Thursday to present his measures to “restore public finances”, with a lot of scissors and amendments. Result: a reduction of more than half a billion euros for the France 2030 plan, a program dedicated to the transformation and innovation of companies in key sectors such as health, space or research. But also a cut of almost 800 million for Public Development Assistance.
Also, in a Senate where the atmosphere was hotter than a rugby match, a cut of 34 million euros from the Sports budget.
The announcement of a Sports budget, already light, which must tighten its belt further, did not please the heavyweights of the last Olympics, including Teddy Riner and Léon Marchand, who spoke on .
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This proposal provoked an outcry. “What do you mean again? ! », Reacted Jean-François Husson, general budget rapporteur, highlighting the government's unpreparedness. “We found out at the last minute, and frankly, it’s not serious. » The Senate overwhelmingly rejected the government's proposal, fearing to see sport become the “big sacrifice of budgetary and accounting causes” just a few months after the Olympic Games.
“We are not going to touch households”
Where the tension also rose a notch was when there was talk of Official Development Assistance (ODA), we were talking about it before. The government has decided to withdraw 781 million euros from the budget, adding this cut to that already made in Michel Barnier's previous version. Enough to anger the left-wing senators, who saw in this measure a pure and simple “renunciation” of France’s international commitments.
As for the question of a possible tax increase, Eric Lombard, Minister of the Economy, wanted to reassure the middle classes and small businesses this Friday morning on BFMTV-RMC. “We are not going to affect households and on the contrary, thanks to the decision of the Socialist Party not to have censored us, we will be able to re-index the scale. Otherwise, 18 million people would see their taxes increase […]. The number of taxable French people will not change and taxes will take into account inflation. »
