The motion of censure against the Barnier government examined in the National Assembly

While the government must present the finance bill for 2025 to the Council of Ministers on Thursday, the minister responsible for the budget and public accounts, Laurent Saint-Martin, spoke this morning at the Franceinfo microphone.

The latter once again sets the target of 60 billion euros in savings by 2025, ensuring that “two thirds of the effort” will be achieved through budget cuts, but that“an exceptional and temporary contribution”, will also be requested “to those who can” – or a tax increase for large companies (three hundred companies with more than one billion euros in turnover) and for the richest households (the richest 0.3%), as defended by the Prime Minister, Michel Barnier.

Regarding the reduction of personnel in the public service, in particular on the non-replacement of certain positions after retirement, mentioned last Thursday by Michel Barnier, Laurent Saint-Martin defended this approach. “We need a slowdown in the hiring of public agents, that is part of what is necessary to stop the increase in public spending. Now we have to think about where this is done. (…) But it is out of the question to make a general cut of public officials in all ministries in an equivalent manner.” argument. Seeming to exclude national education and law enforcement (army, police, gendarmerie) from the equation, Laurent Saint-Martin, however, did not want to reveal which ministries will be affected.

Next, the minister defended the Government’s proposal to reduce the rate reductions for companies applied during the Covid-19 crisis and “the inflationary crisis”, as well as the postponement of the revaluation of pensions from 1^Ahem January to 1^Ahem July or the end of the tariff shield on electricity prices, due to the drop in prices. At the same time, it refers these measures to debate and arbitration in Parliament.

“There should not be any taboo in this budget, otherwise there will be no budget. We must be able to ask together where public money is most useful”the minister argued again.