Will the Finance Committee of the National Assembly be able to investigate the slippage of public finances and possible cover-ups? The proposal will be put on the body’s table on Wednesday during a meeting, we learn from a parliamentary source.
Its president Éric Coquerel (LFI) had already announced his intention to request investigative powers from his commission, “to study the causes of the variability of fiscal and budget forecasts and the evolution of public deficits in recent years”.
Finance commissioners will be invited to vote on Wednesday at 5pm, shortly before the start of the examination of the 2025 draft budget.
A rare situation
Such a situation is rare but not unprecedented. In 2018, the Law Commission, then chaired by Yaël Braun-Pivet, requested investigative powers (summons with obligation to honor the person, investigative power, risk of prosecution in case of false testimony, etc.), to examine the Benalla case.
However, obtaining these powers is not automatic. The request is forwarded to the President of the National Assembly, then posted and notified. But before the second subsequent session, the government, the president of a political group or the president of a commission can oppose the request, according to the rules of the National Assembly. Such a refusal should then trigger a debate in the chamber.
Philippe Brun, vice-president of the PS Finance Commission, also asked on Friday that the latter intervene as a commission of inquiry and examine the shift in the deficit, which he said was “voluntarily hidden” by the previous government.
Furthermore, Éric Ciotti and his parliamentary group of the Union of the Rights of the Republic (UDR), associated with the National Rally, have announced that they intend to launch a commission of inquiry into the “drift of public finances”, to ascertain whether the “cover-ups” could be attributable to previous Macronist governments.
And Éric Ciotti has announced that he wants to use his annual “drawing right” by allowing the almost automatic creation of a commission of inquiry by a group, after an eligibility examination.
“Reduce the deficit to 5%”
According to the latest official data from Bercy, the public deficit should reach 6.1% of GDP this year, a figure well above the 5.1% announced by the previous government, and obviously the 3% threshold set by the European Union.
According to France 2, internal Bercy notes had however warned of this shift in public finances starting from autumn 2023. When questioned by the editorial team, Bruno Le Maire replied in an enigmatic SMS: “The truth will emerge later. »
The president of the Court of Auditors Pierre Moscovici also assured franceinfo on Friday that he wants “to know why and how it happened”.
Prime Minister Michel Barnier aims to “reduce the deficit to 5%” of GDP in 2025. The recovery measures envisaged in his budget represent, according to the government, “60 billion” euros, of which “40 billion” thanks to savings on spending and around 20 billion euros in additional taxes, again according to the government.
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