In an interview with Le Parisien, the resigning Minister of Public Accounts also stated that certain revenues were lower than expected this year.
Without a government, the State must move forward with a budget: a first copy must be submitted to the National Assembly by October 1. And according to the Minister in charge of Public Accounts, Thomas Cazenave, the future executive will not be able to do without additional savings.
For 2025, at least 20 billion in savings will be needed. No government will be able to exempt itself from continuing efforts to reduce the deficit,” he said in an interview given this Sunday to Parisian.
This year, the resigning executive made 10 billion euros in savings in February, before having to stop when it came time to do the same this summer, due to the elections. Thomas Cazenave emphasizes that he nevertheless froze 10 billion in credits this summer, and prepared mechanisms “for taxing certain rents, such as that of energy profits and share buybacks.”
However, the first tax has proven to be very ineffective so far, arriving too late and poorly calibrated, as denounced by the Court of Auditors; concerning the second lever, share buybacks have been at the heart of Emmanuel Macron’s invectives for two years, without however resulting in any tax – due to employer reluctance and due to a possible incompatibility with European law.
Same budget for 2025
The resigning executive therefore instructs the future government to bring the deficit back to 3% in 2027, an objective still displayed by the Elysée and promised to Brussels in the last stability pact – a text summarizing the State’s budgetary trajectory and commitments over the coming years.
But he has allowed the State’s revenues to melt away, by almost 50 billion over the last five years, by lowering taxes on businesses (corporation tax and so-called “production” tax) or on households (with the end of the housing tax, offset with local authorities by a transfer of VAT from the State to cities).
This year, Thomas Cazenave also mentions “collections slightly below expectations”.
By adding new unforeseen expenses, such as those relating to New Caledonia, the resigning government should leave behind a worrying budgetary situation, with a deficit of 5.1%, increased in recent months.
70 days of battle in the Assembly
Without a government appointed on the basis of the election results, the Macronist executive continues to conduct day-to-day business. Prime Minister Gabriel Attal has thus counted on a “zero budget”, in line with the 2024 budget – at 492 billion euros of expenditure in 2025.
Which, with inflation, represents a 10% drop in the credits granted. Some ministries such as Ecological Transition and Labor could be affected by drastic cuts, according to the “ceiling letters” sent by Matignon – sectoral spending forecasts.
If a government is appointed quickly, it will be able to return to this text but will have to finalize a budget by October 1st. The Council of State will also have to examine its provisions before mid-September. It will therefore be necessary to move quickly for the next executive – which will then have to face the Assembly for a maximum of 70 days of discussions.
