Gérald Darmanin keeps the pressure on Michel Barnier. Two days before the Prime Minister’s general policy declaration, the deputy from the North made his political return, Sunday September 29 in Tourcoing (North), during which he warned the tenant of Matignon against any further increase in taxation.
« Many of us will not be able to support a government that raises taxes,” warned Mr. Darmanin, while his Renaissance party has thirteen members in the government. Ministers Sébastien Lecornu (army) and Agnès Pannier-Runacher (ecology), as well as government spokesperson Maud Bregeon, were among his 450 guests.
While asserting that he “supported” the new government – “because its success will be the success of my country which I love more than anything” – However, he suggested that he would not vote for the budget to be presented by Michel Barnier before December 31, 2024, if new taxes came into force, particularly on the richest households or businesses. “I understand that this increase would only concern the wealthiest French people: but the money of the wealthiest must go into job creation, not into public coffers”justified Mr. Darmanin who proposes, conversely, new tax cuts for businesses, because “production taxes are weighing down our industry”.
Tensions
These statements come after several weeks of tensions between deputies from the Ensemble pour la République (EPR) group and the Prime Minister on tax issues. Since his appointment to Matignon, the subject has been regularly agitated by the presidential camp to put pressure on Michel Barnier, from the Republicans (LR), and to whom they criticize the vagueness maintained on his intentions.
The same day, the twenty-seven deputies of the “Solféri-no” group, bringing together the “right wing” of EPR, published an article in La Tribune du Dimanche to oppose the tax increases. Gérald Darmanin, who was Edouard Philippe’s minister of public accounts (2017-2020), was also able to benefit from the support of the latter, who came to Tourcoing to recall that the two men had “ both lowered taxes and significantly reduced the deficit” when they were in government. “Everyone can draw whatever conclusions they want,” insisted the former prime minister, in a barely veiled message to Michel Barnier.
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The event was also an opportunity for the presidential party to showcase its unity. For the cameras, Gabriel Attal embarked on a game of bourle – a traditional game from the North – with his host of the day. The former prime minister, however, did not speak publicly and slipped away before political speeches, notably that of Elisabeth Borne with whom he is in competition to take the helm of Renaissance.
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