After having made his general policy statement, on Tuesday and Wednesday before the National Assembly and the Senate, and a week before the presentation of his finance bill, on Thursday, October 10, Michel Barnier was the guest of the program “L’Événement” on France 2. Thursday afternoon, October 3. On this occasion, he was questioned at length about this narrow budget that he is preparing to present and thanks to which he hopes to reduce the debt by 60 billion euros.
Deny everything “fiscal shock”as some claim, and any policy “austerity ” and “rigor”The Prime Minister revealed some details about the tax increases planned in the budget and answered questions about the policy he intends to apply in Matignon.
300 companies affected by tax increases
First of all, the Head of Government provided additional information on the exceptional tax that will be applied to large companies. “We are going to ask for an effort from the largest companies that earn more than a billion [d’euros de chiffre d’affaires] and a temporary exceptional effort”recalled Michel Barnier, specifying that some “300 companies” would be affected. HE ” time “ of this additional contribution “shall be fixed by law”AND “It will be a year and maybe two years”he clarified. “But there will be no new taxes for almost all of the 4 million companies”said.
2 billion in income thanks to high-income taxation
The Prime Minister also gave more details on the tax increases for the richest households planned in his budget. “The effort that we are going to ask for is based on a tax system for very high incomes that François Fillon and Nicolas Sarkozy launched a few years ago. “We are going to add something to this system for the exceptional and temporary participation of the luckiest people.”added the head of government.
This will allow “Recover 2 billion euros”estimated, confirming that the affected households will be, for example, “couples with tax income exceeding 500,000 euros”.
Postponement of pension increases, a “fair” effort
Confirming the postponement for six months of the indexation of retirement pensions to inflation – from 1Ahem July 2025 instead of July 1.Ahem In January, the Prime Minister admitted that he was calling for ” effort ” to retirees. “I ask everyone to make an effort (…). And I think this is fair and proportionate, although I know it is difficult.”he defended. However, the Prime Minister recalled that Parliament, “free to suggest changes”will decide “maybe differently”during budget debates.
Savings in learning aid, health transportation and thanks to the non-replacement of civil servants
Asked about the 40 billion savings planned in the budget to be presented next week, Michel Barnier outlined some ideas. He declared that public services will be “merged”. “We probably won’t replace all public officials [qui partent à la retraite] when they are not in direct contact with citizens”He also stated. “We are going to bring together administrations or state agencies that are duplicated, we can gain a few GDP points by simplifying people’s lives”assured the Prime Minister.
To reduce public spending, the head of Government spoke of the reorientation of aid granted to companies for the training of apprentices, but also of medical transport, for which France “spends billions”according to him. “Can’t we do it better or just as well with a little less money? »asked.
Asked about a possible effort requested from local authorities, for which the Court of Auditors proposes eliminating 100,000 positions, Barnier advocated dialogue. “I want to make reforms not without people, without communities, without unions, but with themhe clarified. We’re going to fix ourselves, that’s the Barnier method. »
Immigration: “I am the one who draws the line”
Following the controversial statements of the Minister of the Interior, Bruno Retailleau, particularly regarding the rule of law, the Prime Minister assured: “I am the one who draws the line” about immigration. “There will be rigorous measures to [la] teacher “he insisted.
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The prime minister appeared to rule out the idea of a new specific law, as demanded by the leader of the National Rally MPs, Marine Le Pen. “I am not going to announce laws in advance”he said, but “maybe there will be changes in the law [actuelle] if necessary ». “I’m not going to get into big ideological debates”concluded on this topic.
End of life: Michel Barnier I “personally agree” with the initial version of the bill.
On this delicate issue that fractures political personnel, Michel Barnier stated “favorable to resuming work at the time it was interrupted, [après] “a very deep debate in Parliament that was suspended due to the dissolution”and confesses to having been “personally agree” with the initial version of the text opening a “assisted death” below “strict conditions.”
A “single social allocation” project
The Prime Minister announced his intention to launch “for next year” a construction site“single social allowance”. The objective of this measure will be “that at the end of this job, it is better to work than not to work”declared, specifying that this “construction will take a little time”. Mr. Barnier considered that it was necessary “debureaucratize” subsidies and “maybe sometimes it increases something”like the one destined for “people with disabilities”. The Prime Minister added that he had no “I found concrete proposals on this topic” of the single subsidy. This project is one of those presented on Wednesday by Laurent Wauquiez, president of the Republican Right Deputies (formerly Les Républicains). With his troops, he advocates for a “Social allowance with a single limit” has “70% of the minimum wage”destined according to him to fight against“assistantship”.
A “pause” in regulations for farmers
Michel Barnier promised “Take a break from the standards” For ” encourage “ farmers affected by the crises. “These farmers who are affected by health crises and poor harvests deserve to be encouraged. They are fed up. Fed up with limitations, rules and controls. “So let’s take a break from standards.”declared the one who was Minister of Agriculture from 2007 to 2009 under the presidency of Nicolas Sarkozy.
