Budget vote: the Minister of Finance open to a “gesture on electricity”, but “not at any price”

The threat is becoming more and more concrete: without waiting for the final reading on the state budget in mid-December, the government could face a motion of censure next week, which would precipitate its fall. Faced with this worrying prospect, the executive is “ready for measured concessions”, notably on electricity taxation, but warns the opposition of the risk of a “leap into the budgetary unknown” if the budget is not voted on, insisted Thursday on BFMTV and RMC the Minister of the Economy and Finance Antoine Armand.

At a time when the public deficit is climbing to 6.1% this year and the government is targeting 60 billion savings, “the moment is extremely serious”, he said, in line with the numerous warnings launched in recent days by the government, starting with Prime Minister Michel Barnier who on Monday raised the specter of “a serious storm and turbulence”, particularly on the financial markets, if the 2025 budget was not voted on.

“Michel Barnier’s door has always been open”

The minister estimated in this regard that the government had already reached out in the face of criticism of its budget, allowing, according to him, “major changes to small pensions and reductions in contributions” for companies. He returned in particular to the taxation of electricity, which the government wishes to raise, to the great dismay of the RN which is demanding the “abandonment” of this flagship provision of the budget, otherwise it threatens to add its votes to a motion of censorship from the left. “Discussions” are underway on this subject but “Michel Barnier’s door has always been open, (…) since the first day”, defended Antoine Armand.

The government is ready to make a “gesture on electricity”, but “not at any price”, only “in line with the budget we are carrying”, he continued, without providing further details on the contours that this outstretched hand could take. “Electricity will drop by 9% and we will see if we can do more to preserve the purchasing power of the French,” the Prime Minister said on TF1 on Monday.

“We are ready to make measured concessions for all requests”, but on condition of maintaining the objective of “straightening out the accounts”, further argued Antoine Armand. “Do we have people in front of us who are responsible? “, he asked, accusing the oppositions of relying on “red lines”. He also stressed that France “is not Greece”, although Paris' borrowing rate exceeded that of Athens for the first time, triggering fears in financial markets. But if “we don’t collapse”, “we risk dropping out”, he insisted.

“Do not deprive France of a budget”

“We are faced with an immense responsibility: to give the country a budget,” the minister insisted, before directly attacking the opposition: “It is not because we do not agree with a policy that puts a country in the red, (…) that plunges the country into the budgetary and financial unknown,” he was irritated, calling on “the parties that call themselves government, whatever their disagreement with the government, not to deprive the France of a budget”. He particularly criticized the socialists, ready to vote for the motion of censure, whom he accused of “threatening” and “not discussing” instead of launching “concrete proposals”.