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Brussels approves the French government’s budget amidst the crisis

by AI | 26.Nov 2024 | Europe in brief AI

The European Commission approved on Tuesday the efforts planned by Michel Barnier’s government to reduce France’s public deficit, the largest in the EU except for Romania.

This photo taken on July 14, 2017, in Paris shows the building of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and the Seine. (Photo: JEAN-SÉBASTIEN EVRARD / AFP)

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Brussels – The European Commission released its assessment of member states’ budgets on Tuesday and expressed its support for the French government, threatened with censure, by approving its austerity efforts.

France ranks among the worst in Europe. With a public deficit in sharp deterioration, expected this year at 6.2% of the gross domestic product, it shows the worst performance among the Twenty-Seven, except for Romania, far from the 3% ceiling allowed by EU rules.

Under pressure from financial markets, the new Finance Minister Antoine Armand has planned for next year an effort of “60 billion” euros, in the form of spending cuts and new taxes. But the bitter pill is hard to swallow.

The leader of the National Rally deputies Marine Le Pen contests certain measures, such as the increase in electricity taxes, which should affect household purchasing power. She reiterated on Monday her threat to topple the center-right government by voting a motion of censure with the left. (November 26, 2024)

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