Bernard Cazeneuve, whose name was circulated this summer to join Matignon, returns for the first time to his meeting with Emmanuel Macron. Former Prime Minister François Hollande believes that the head of state never wanted to appoint a center-left prime minister who resisted him, but that the left did not consciously play the balance of power, leaving him complete freedom to remove him from power.
What did you think of Michel Barnier’s general policy statement?
I have respect and esteem for Michel Barnier, whose seriousness and competence I appreciate. He also faces tough tests and the qualities of a man are also evaluated in light of the context he must face. That is why I am not a supporter of easy and systematic criticism, which is the law of the genre. It would also be irresponsible to speculate on its failure, and also cynical, considering the enormous challenge presented to the French government.
On the other hand, I have, it is true, serious reservations about the balance of his government and the general inclination of his orientations that place him to the right, that is, very far from my usual choices. As if to make people forget, the general policy statement was more like a general policy speech than a specific government program. It is therefore difficult to understand exactly the Prime Minister’s intentions, especially in terms of restoring public accounts, where the level of debt and deficit remains very worrying.
How do you approach the delicate budget equation?
On these issues, let us be precise: there was a public deficit of 2.6% in 2017, when Emmanuel Macron took power, while it was almost 5% in 2012, when Nicolas Sarkozy left power. Now we are at 6%. Of course, there was the health crisis, that of the “yellow vests”, but the “at all costs” He was able to give the feeling that one could spend generously.
We must now have the courage to tell the French the truth: resolving the debt issue is in the national interest, unless we run the risk of an attack on the markets and a challenge to our sovereignty and our margins of maneuver to invest in ecology. transition in particular. Tuesday [1er octobre]Michel Barnier did not say how to go from a 6% deficit in 2024 to 5% in 2025, without a modified finance law, documented savings and specific fiscal measures.
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