Growing government deficit: Bruno Le Maire announces ‘more effort’ but refuses to raise taxes

“This will require additional effort.” Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire is maintaining his future savings line to cope with a widening government deficit last year that exceeded initial forecasts. INSEE released a consolidated deficit figure of 5.5% of GDP in 2023 on Tuesday morning.

Public finances “must be restored,” he noted on RTL, calling for “more determination, more method and more self-control” to find sources of savings. At the same time, TF 1 announced that it would receive the Prime Minister on Wednesday at 20:00. Gabriel Attal “will come to announce the latest government decisions on work and speak on a number of current issues,” the channel explains in a press release.

“A deficit of 5.5% and a national debt of 110.6%: Mozart’s latest symphony of finance resembles a swan song. Mr Macron is responsible for this disastrous result! “”, reacted to X Eric Ciotti (LR). “Instead of cutting immigration costs or fighting social fraud, macroni will cut its sovereign spending while raising our taxes,” denounced RN MEP Jean-Lin Lacapelle on X.

“We can well save on public spending without digging into the pockets of the French, and I remain categorically against any increase in taxes for our compatriots,” defended Bruno Le Maire, believing that “spending was withheld” last year.

“Little Mistake”

“There may be a slight reduction in spending,” said the first chairman of the Court of Auditors, Pierre Moscovici. Recalling that “public spending has increased by two points since the Covid crisis”, he assessed regarding France Inter that “we are in a situation that forces us to adjust our trajectory and which obliges us to tell the French the truth about our public life.” finance.” According to him, the government was guilty of “excessive optimism”, imagining that good tax revenues from previous years would continue into 2023. On the other hand, he criticized the forecast for budget growth for 2024 by 1.4 points, “at that time the consensus said 0.8.”

“What matters to me now is the future trajectory,” “we must shed the mountain of debt to build a wall of investment,” argued the former socialist minister, twice recalling with relief that he was no longer in political life.

In addition to controlling government spending, that is, containing costs, there are two resources that allow the government to invest in the future. “First, growth that cannot be interrupted,” Moscovici began. “2, taxes. We have the highest rate of mandatory contributions in Europe,” he recalled. “I heard about temporary contributions from François Bayrou, from Yael Braun-Pivet, we need to discuss this calmly, it does not shock me.” As for the at-all-costs policy, “for normal Covid, but for a tariff shield, the court found that it still benefited the energy companies.” We must, the chief justice insisted, “share the efforts; no one should say that he pays for others.” And he added: “I’m not saying this out of political preference. But this feeling is affected, democracy is affected. »

The left, which has pushed hard for the savings promised by pension reform, is campaigning to tax the richest.

On Tuesday morning, Bruno Le Maire, speaking out against tax increases, opened the door to increasing the contribution to the “inframarginal rent” of energy companies. But instead, the minister in charge of the economy and finance “called for a collective awareness of the need to make choices in all our public spending” and announced that he himself was going to “write to all operators of the state – this could be the National Film Center, Business France, all government departments.” ..”, whose “treasuries are doing well,” tell them: “You have one month to make me proposals for “saving your budgets,” and if you do not make me any proposals, we will decide for you.”