Finance Minister, Bruno Le Maire, on Friday insisted France would slash the public deficit to below three percent of GDP by 2027, after the EU reprimanded Paris for breaking budget rules.
Framce Finance Minister, Bruno Le Maire, on Friday affirmed that the country would reduce its public deficit to below three percent of GDP by 2027, following a reprimand from the EU for breaching budget rules.
“We have to come back to sound public finances and count on my total determination,” Le Maire stated to reporters in Luxembourg.
He emphasized that France would adhere to its fiscal path to achieve a deficit below three percent by 2027.
The political landscape in France has been unstable since President Emmanuel Macron called for a snap election after his party’s significant loss to the far right.
Le Maire attributed the recent market volatility to the extravagant spending promises made by political parties across the spectrum.
“You have the programmes put on the table by other parties and by the opposition with very significant public expenditures,” Le Maire explained.
He noted that this was the cause of market reactions and concerns from the banking sector.
He criticized the economic and financial plans of the opposition as “totally foolish and irresponsible.”
The European Commission announced on Wednesday its intention to propose, in July, the initiation of “a deficit-based excessive deficit procedure” for Belgium, France, Italy, Hungary, Malta, Poland, and Slovakia, all of which have deficits exceeding three percent. France’s deficit stood at 5.5 percent last year.
According to EU regulations, a country’s debt should not exceed 60 percent of its GDP, and its deficit should be no more than three percent. Le Maire defended France’s fiscal policies and highlighted the “necessary decisions” made in the past six months to curb public spending.
