Former Prime Minister Gabriel Attal assured the Senate on Friday, November 8, that he had taken “strong decisions” when he was in Matignon to stop the budget slide. “We have had alerts [sur la dégradation des finances publiques] and we make, I think, strong decisions.”stated the former head of Government, heard by senators within the framework of an information mission on the evolution of public accounts, before an investigation commission of the National Assembly.
“We reviewed growth forecasts, increased the deficit target, decided to save €20 billion during the year and prepared a state budget with ‘savings’ of €15 billion.argued Attal, now leader of the group of Macronist deputies Ensemble pour la République (EPR, ex-Renaissance). “I don’t think that in the past, in such a short time, a government has identified and dared to make so many savings”he insisted, believing that there was “a heightened awareness of the strain on our public finances” when it was rue de Varenne.
Gabriel Attal, for his part, found “scandalous” HE “political and media trial” addressed to the former Minister of Economy Bruno Le Maire, greeting his “Obsession to get France out of debt”.
Bruno Le Maire defends himself against any “error” or “concealment”
The Senate, whose center and right majority was in opposition until the appointment of Michel Barnier in Matignon, had been very offensive in recent years against Bercy and Le Maire, regularly accused of “insincerity” AND “opacity” towards Parliament. On Thursday, the former Minister of Economy refuted before the same senators any ” mistake ” EITHER “concealment” in the face of the significant deterioration of French public finances.
The public deficit is expected to reach 6.1% of gross domestic product (GDP) this year, a figure very far from the 4.4% expected in the fall of 2023 and the 5.1% expected in the spring, after the reevaluation of the previous executive. It would only fall below the 3% of GDP authorized by the European Union in 2029, making France a poor student of the Union. This slide raised doubts about the reliability of the forecasts of the previous Macronist majority.
The Senate is also due to hear from Gabriel Attal’s predecessor, Elisabeth Borne, on November 15. The upper house will consider, starting next week, the 2025 budget project and the “60 billion” of euros of savings that it foresees.
