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France: Bayrou wants military spending excluded from European deficit rules

by AI | 28.Feb 2025 | Europe in brief AI

The French Prime Minister wants military spending to be excluded from European deficit rules, which Paris often struggles to comply with.

The French Prime Minister François Bayrou delivers a speech after a meeting of the Interministerial Committee for Immigration Control, in Paris, on February 26, 2025. (Photo: Ludovic MARIN / AFP)

Paris – “I share the ideas of those who say: +in such dangerous circumstances, military spending needs to be excluded from European deficit rules+,” confirmed French Prime Minister François Bayrou in an interview with Le Figaro published Thursday evening.

“Our country made efforts that others did not, by building its defense industrial apparatus. It’s a considerable asset,” added M. Bayrou.

The Stability and Growth Pact that binds the eurozone countries requires limiting the public deficit to 3% of the gross domestic product (GDP), except in exceptional circumstances.

France chronically struggles to comply with it and is subject to a procedure for excessive deficits, which may lead to European sanctions if it does not return to compliance within the given time frame.

After a public deficit expected around 6% of GDP in 2024, François Bayrou aims for 5.4% in 2025. (February 27, 2025)