Public development assistance (ODA) is on track to become the main collateral victim of budget cuts aimed at limiting the spiral of French deficits. The finance bill for 2025 that is currently being examined in Parliament is accompanied by a significant cut to the detriment of aid to the most vulnerable countries: 2 billion euros of the effort of some 40 billion expected by the Barnier Government, in way of saving. and tax increases, to the point of raising the concern of non-governmental organizations, but also of the armed wing of the State in this area, the French Development Agency (AFD).
According to the finance bill, development allocations should be reduced by 1.3 billion euros, adding an additional saving of 641 million euros. announced at the end of October by the executive: a reduction of around 34% in credits allocated to development in 2025 compared to this year. According to calculations by Coordination Sud, a platform that brings together 180 French international solidarity NGOs, this measure could mean the elimination of basic vaccination for more than 71 million children, or the elimination of school support for a year for more than 17 million they. .
“France is not only turning its back on poor countries, but it is also going to distance itself from the big issues on which it has positioned itself since 2017,” he stated. laments Friederike Röder, vice president of Global Citizen, an organization that fights extreme poverty. Since Macron’s arrival at the Elysée in 2017, the development aid budget had increased from 10 to around 15 billion euros per year. The tenant of the Elysée has never hesitated to use these instruments as an instrument of diplomatic influence. And to this end, France has hosted a series of conferences, including the “summit for a new global financial pact” in June 2023, or a United Nations ocean summit in Nice in June 2025.
“This unprecedented drop is excessive”
A government source maintains that aid continues “Still more than 1.2 billion euros compared to 2017, which shows that France is still fully present and committed”, but it will be more “refocused” in certain geographical areas and certain sectors. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, whose operating budget is more or less saved, is forced to review some of its programs, while the Head of State remains discreet, away from the tumult caused by the budget debate. The Elysée is content to let it be known that it is“an issue that is closely followed given the strong commitment of the President of the Republic to public aid for development”. But it is difficult for Macron to take the opposite view from that of his Prime Minister, who is on the front line of budget debates.
You have 48.92% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.
