Tenacity finally paid off. On Thursday, September 19, deputies and senators obtained part of the budget elements that they had been demanding for more than two months. In the middle of the day, the Prime Minister’s services sent them not the formal “reprint”, which according to the law they should have received no later than July 15, but a summary document which, without having the same legal value, nevertheless provides precise data on the planned state expenditure for 2025, ministry by ministry.
In the presentation, Matignon’s services are careful to stress that the document does not commit Michel Barnier. It is only a “draft report”established “based on the roof letters signed on August 20th” by former Prime Minister Gabriel Attal. These figures constitute a “technical basis for budgeting”but “does not prejudge the modifications and adjustments that may be proposed” by the future government, when it has completed its future finance law.
This 13-page “half-print,” consulted by the world, This confirms the first elements that had been leaked during the summer. In total, Gabriel Attal had planned to freeze public spending in 2025 compared to the initial 2024 budget of 492 billion euros. But beyond this general stability, certain ministries are benefiting, while clear savings are being made in other missions.
The defense budget is on the rise
Work and employment have thus suffered a severe blow. Loans fell by 2.3 billion euros, or 6.9%, year-on-year. “France is experiencing the lowest unemployment rate recorded in more than forty years, close to 7% of the working population”, The government justifies itself in the document by saying that it was planned to reduce the hiring bonuses for apprentices in this context. “targeting contracts for which public support is most efficient,” as well as a “management optimization” from France Competencies.
Another victim of the announced budget cuts is public development aid. Its budget is expected to be reduced by 1.3 billion euros, or 19.4%. Although not as significant in volume (300 million euros), a very significant drop (-27%) also affects, in this provisional project, the credits destined for transformation and public services.
In contrast, the defence sector has benefited from a 7% increase in its appropriations, or 3.3 billion euros. “Rearmament and the development of military investment are part of the international situation and the various threats that the country must face.the document states. This additional investment would ensure the capital expenditures and equipment orders necessary to modernize our armed forces. »
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