A few hours before beginning his talks with political parties to prepare the 2025 budget, the Minister of the Economy Eric Lombard made several appeals to the left this Monday, January 6 in the morning show of France Inter. “I think, as the week begins, that there is more prospect of fruitful dialogue with the left-wing parties than with the National Rally”launched the new tenant of Bercy.
The former director of the Caisse des Dépôts showed himself open to several requests from the Socialist Party, which he received this Monday, and from the left, even those excluded during the previous governments of Emmanuel Macron, such as the end of the retirement at age 64. “We didn’t say we weren’t touching it”he said, adding that, in discussions on pensions, “everything was on the table”. The only requirement for the minister: not to worsen the pension deficit.
Eric Lombard also intends to tackle tax optimization, like the Minister of Public Accounts Amélie de Montchalin the day before. He wishes that “people who have significant income simply participate in the tax effort that all citizens carry out”. “When you are an employee, you cannot do tax optimization”he pointed. A “tax justice measure”, for the new Minister of the Economy, close to the left and personal friend of Olivier Faure, the secretary general of the PS. At this stage, the socialists have not taken a firm position on the subject of censorship of the Bayrou government.
The fact remains that Eric Lombard opens the door more widely to the rest of the left. “I think there are possible convergences with the Socialist Party but also with the Communist Party and with the Greens”he believes, while representatives of the PC and environmentalists are expected in Bercy on Wednesday. The tax on the profits of large businesses, already present in the Barnier government's budget, should notably make its return in the 2025 budget project. In this series of interviews with a view to preparing the 2025 budget, only La France Insoumise is the the only left-wing group not to wish to meet Eric Lombard. LFI deputy Eric Coquerel will speak with him on Thursday, but in his capacity as president of the finance committee of the National Assembly.
“Responsibilities” towards the RN
If he is to host the National Rally on Friday, the Minister of the Economy did not hesitate to criticize his methods. “The red line approach is an approach that traps everyone”he estimated this Monday morning. Faced with the risk of censorship of far-right deputies, the Minister of the Economy assured that he would take his “responsibilities”. “If we negotiate with everyone, we end up arriving at a situation once again where there is no longer anything possible”launched Eric Lombard. Michel Barnier's government had already given in to several demands from Marine Le Pen, notably renouncing to increase taxes on electricity, to reform Emergency Medical Aid and then to de-reimburse medicines. But after a series of outbidding, the Barnier government finally fell because of the deindexation of pensions, refused by Jordan Bardella's party.
While the debate around the deficit is permanent, the new Minister of the Economy has also affirmed that it would be located “between 5% and 5.5%” in 2024, when the Barnier government aimed for 5%. If the Bayrou government was banking on an effort of 60 billion euros this year, “we are more around 50 billion euros”, according to the new minister. “It will basically be savings. There will be no new tax increases compared to those that have already been announced.he clarified.
