Budget 2025: the president of Medef, Patrick Martin, calls for more austerity and social destruction

“Lowering tax relief will destroy hundreds of thousands of jobs. » The sentence is intended to be final and resonates like a threat. It is signed Patrick Martin in an interview with Echoespublished a few hours before the presentation of the 2025 budget to the Council of Ministers, this Thursday, October 10.

The president of Medef thus intends to put pressure on the government until the last minute. “We share the objective of “de-emphasisizing” the country, but lowering the reductions in charges at the level of the minimum wage will affect our competitiveness, and considerably reduce the ability of companies to increase net salaries,” he asserts without hesitation, putting all companies in the same basket, from multinationals to SMEs. And without dwelling on the nearly 200 billion in aid distributed without conditions or the 100 billion returned to their shareholders by CAC 40 companies in 2023.

Never enough cuts in public spending for the boss of bosses

“The economic context is difficult and public policies must not further weaken the business climate” he asserts, pointing “a real economic slowdown, with household consumption not picking up and business investment continuing to deteriorate”.

If the recessive risk of austerity planned by the executive is pointed out by the president of the Finance Committee of the Assembly Éric Coquerel and other NFP parliamentarians who presented on Wednesday 10 measures to generate new revenue, Patrick Martin does not care and on the contrary demands that Prime Minister Michel Barnier and his government go further. “A few weeks ago, I sent out, in a responsible manner, a sign of openness by saying that companies were ready to possibly take their share of the necessary collective effort, but under real and tangible conditions. I see today that these conditions are unfortunately not met,” he regrets.

Among these conditions, first the demonstration that on excess public spending, the State is making efforts much greater than what it asks of companies.” However, the boss of bosses is not satisfied, estimating that despite the more than 40 billion euros in savings announced in 2025 – a historic austerity cure – “real structural reductions in spending in the public sphere” missing.

And he does not hesitate to draw up his list of recommendations such as cutting “the civil service workforce” (which has the advantage of freeing up space for private use), or even “fight more resolutely against fraud”. “Including when it comes from companies”he concedes. But we could even say ” Above all ” when 56% of the 13 billion recorded “social frauds” are their own doing, according to a report, dated September, due to the High Council for the Financing of Social Protection (HCFiPS). Not to mention that tax evasion, which represents some 100 billion per year, does not seem to be an issue.

A follower of the trickle-down theory

This is because Patrick Martin is a follower of the trickle-down theory (according to which giving gifts to the richest would end up paying off to the poorest via the dynamism of the economy). Virtuously applied by Macronie since 2017, it has demonstrated its failure (if only by the level of debt and deficit reached), but the president of Medef does not budge. “The measures that we have worked to preserve, positive in terms of investment, attractiveness and growth for nine years, must not be modified: the research tax credit, the Dutreil pact or even the flat-rate levy unique (the flat tax, Editor’s note). And we will also ensure non-return of a wealth taxwhich would radically deter investors,” he explains to Echoes.

On the other hand, to break the rights of employees, the boss of Medef is open to all proposals. Eliminate a day off as suggested by former minister Gérald Darmanin? “ You shouldn’t forbid yourself anything. In any case, we must think about financing social protection more through taxation, for example with a social VAT rather than through contributions which unfairly weigh on work. » Or the end of deferred wages, a central principle of Social Security that many within employers also dream of seeing disappear.

The Prime Minister had nevertheless endeavored to respond to the wishes of the president of Medef. In addition to the 40 billion cuts in public spending, only “300 companies” Who “make more than 1 billion euros in turnover business » will be affected by a “a temporary exceptional effort”pendant “a year and maybe two years”, continues to hammer Michel Barnier.