Stunned, they decided to react immediately. During a joint press conference, Bruno Le Maire, Gabriel Attal, Elisabeth Borne and Thomas Cazenave responded, on Tuesday, November 19, to the criticism of the senators of the Finance Commission regarding the deterioration of public accounts since October 2023. Former Economy Minister Le Maire criticized a vitriolic report by Republican (LR) and Socialist Party (PS) senators on the responsibility of previous governments in relation to the state of finances. public, describing it as “accusation of political opponents”, “full of lies”.
“We collectively anticipated, reacted quickly, and reacted strongly against all opposition, particularly the Republican group and the Socialist Party group, who continued to propose additional spending.”the former Bercy resident insisted during a briefing with reporters. “This is an outrageous attack based on unrealistic or false accusations”added former head of government Elisabeth Borne.
“Collective denial”
Previous governments were seriously damaged on Tuesday by the conclusions of a Senate parliamentary mission on the explosion of the deficit. According to the conclusions of the fact-finding mission, all the former leaders, in Bercy, in Matignon and in the Elysée, have their share of responsibility in the expansion of the public deficit, expected at 6.1% of GDP at the end of 2024. , compared to the 4.4% initially planned. A deficit that would only fall below the 3% authorized by the EU in 2029, which would turn France into a poor European student.
“To the general feeling of collective denial about the situation of public finances, there is now added a feeling of irresponsibility on the part of those who were in government at that time”launched the rapporteur of this mission, Jean-François Husson, senator of Les Républicains (LR), during a press conference. “In fact, the government knew about the critical state of our public finances as early as December 2023. In our opinion, it should have reacted strongly. But he didn’t do it.”continued the socialist president of the Finance Committee, Claude Raynal.
The two senators also believe that many months have passed “lost” in the reestablishment of accounts, due to reorganizations and especially dissolution, premise of a “Waiting too long for the appointment of the new Prime Minister”. They also regret the absence of a corrective budget in spring, decided according to them by “short-sighted calculations” in the context of the European elections and the risk of censorship.
A “political trial”
The two senators believe that state services had information about the deterioration of public finances since the end of 2023 and that the government was slow to act or communicate about it. They are based, in particular, on several internal Treasury notes, as well as on a letter sent on December 13, 2023 by the economy ministers Bruno Le Maire and the public accounts minister Thomas Cazenave to Elisabeth Borne, then prime minister, recommending that to be communicated in “the critical nature of (the) budget situation”.
“Ministers used double standards” between this internal note, perceived as a ” alert “ for meme Borne and his reassuring public positions at the time outraged the senatorial mission. During their hearings, the former officials defended themselves against any “concealment”ensuring that everyone has “controlled spending” and having reacted quickly to economic updates, in particular by freezing billions of credits.
The explanation, according to them, lies above all in an error in the evaluation of tax revenues, which were 41.5 billion euros less than expected. Bruno Le Maire had also transferred part of the responsibility to his successors, criticizing the Barnier government for not having “implemented” recovery measures prepared during the summer by the resigned team. Gabriel Attal had defended his former minister, criticizing a “Scandalous political and media trial” against him.
The National Assembly is preparing to take over: in the coming weeks it will chair a commission of inquiry on the same issue, under the direction of Eric Coquerel (La Francia Insumisa, Seine-Saint-Denis) and Eric Ciotti (Union of Rights for the Republic , Maritime Alps).
