A commitment to the draft of the budget for 2026 of France will be “inevitable” if the government of François Bayrou fell next week, said Economy and Finance Minister Eric Lombard, in an interview with the Financial Times published Wednesday.
François Bayrou declared on August 25 that he would be involved before the National Assembly on September 8, responsibility for his government on the question of the fight against the country’s debt. This announcement occurred after Matignon’s tenant announced in July the content of his budget project by 2026, demanding an “effort” of more than 40 billion euros in savings to escape, he said, the “curse” of debt.
For its part, the Socialist Party (PS), which said it had made the “irrevocable” decision to vote against François Bayrou next week, made the proposals aimed at obtaining almost 22 billion euros in savings. Éric Lombard described this as “insufficient.”
“There is a disagreement in the rhythm and a disagreement about the magnitude” of the savings
Saying that the hope that François Bayrou obtains the confidence of the deputies, Éric Lombard admitted that, if not, the concessions would be necessary with the socialists to achieve an agreement on the budget project, citing the balance of powers in Parliament.
“It’s inevitable,” Financial Times told Financial. However, the minister expressed his confidence in the fact that the budget project would be adopted in time in all cases, whether he is still in office in Bercy, saying that the government would not have to start from scratch. “There is a disagreement in the rhythm and a disagreement about the magnitude” of the savings in 2026 “, but that leaves a margin of discussion,” he said.
When asked about the richest taxes claimed by the left for more fiscal justice, the tenant of Bercy said that “sharing this vision of solidarity.” “It is true that in French culture, there is the need for equality, of appearance of equality, greater than other places. Symbolism is sometimes more important than reality,” he added.
Finally, Éric Lombard would see himself in Bercy if Emmanuel Macron asked him in case of a fall in government next Monday: “Do not hide from you that I find that it is a great ministry where we can do many useful things,” he said.
Source: BFM TV
