2024-03-28 15:17:04
The day after the announcement of the worsening public deficit in 2023, and a few hours after a ministerial seminar focused on work, the Prime Minister presented this Wednesday evening to the French the government’s latest decisions.
He was expected around the corner. After the announcement of the public deficit for 2023, estimated by INSEE at 5.5% of GDP, a figure well beyond the executive’s initial forecasts, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal came Wednesday evening to the “20 hours” from TF1. Thirty minutes to reveal the government’s decisions aimed at restoring public finances and work. A speech that is all the more scrutinized as the country has embarked on the path of «rigueur» , in the words of the host of Matignon on Tuesday, in order to restore the state’s accounts by 2027. In this regard, the government is laying its cards on the tables. And is looking for savings.
If the executive excludes biting to increase taxes, ten billion euros of cuts were already made a month ago on the 2024 budget. Other savings are planned this year, and at least 20 billion euros will be found for 2025. After a government seminar devoted to work in Matignon, Gabriel Attal reiterated Wednesday afternoon on «total» of his government to achieve “the desicardization of the country” and at “return to work”. In the government’s sights: unemployment insurance for which the social partners are still under discussion.
Deficit: “No slippage in state spending”
After the public deficit figures revealed this week by INSEE, the Prime Minister described the situation as “serious”. “There was no skid in state spending. We are even a little below, 8 billion euros less than what was planned for expenditure. On the other hand, we had less revenue than expected,” recognized Gabriel Attal on TF1. According to the head of government, this discrepancy in the public accounts is linked to a “European economic slowdown”.
To play down the situation, Gabriel Attal recalled that no budget surplus has been voted since 1974. The opportunity to praise Emmanuel Macron’s record in this area: France has experienced a public deficit below 3% of the GDP, as required by the Maastricht Treaty, in 2017 and 2018 before the health crisis of the years 2020-2021. “We maintain the objective of falling below 3% of the deficit in 2027. When you are below 3%, that means that you are starting to repay your debt”also explained the Prime Minister.
In mid-April, the government will also present a trajectory to reach this threshold at the end of the five-year term. And to spin the metaphor: “The subject is to get France out of debt because a country that is over-indebted is not a free country. It’s like for households, if you are over-indebted, you spend all your money to repay your debt. You can no longer invest, make plans for the future.”
No tax increases for the middle classes and businesses
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Asked about a possible increase in taxation to reduce the public deficit and increase revenue, Gabriel Attal hammered home: “We have always said that we would not increase taxes.” Recalling having lowered them for some, Gabriel Attal drew two red lines. First of all, “do not increase taxes on the middle classes”. Then, “not to increase taxes for (…) businesses.” The Prime Minister may well not dismiss the idea of a tax on the richest, as proposed by the President of the National Assembly Yaël Braun-Pivet, and has not “no dogma” on the file, the tenant of Matignon is waiting “let us make him some suggestions”.
To counter this fiscal stability, the head of government wants to encourage the unemployed to return to employment. “Either you increase taxes, or you ensure that there are even more people working to have additional revenue”, developed the Prime Minister. Who thunders his objective “to achieve full employment” by 2027, a source of additional revenue for the state coffers.
Unemployment insurance: a reduction in the duration of compensation “by several months”
Wednesday evening, Gabriel Attal also announced “a reform of theunemployment insurance This year”. Given this desire, he asked the Minister of Labor Catherine Vautrin to “prepare for new negotiations” for a “real, more global reform”. “My objective is not to attack a particular individual or the unemployed, it is to move a system to encourage more people to return to work,” Gabriel Attal justified himself. “There are several parameters.” First of all, “the duration of unemployment insurance compensation. Today is 18 months. One of the ways is to reduce this duration by several months, it must not go below 12 months”began by detailing the head of government.
Then there is “the time you must have worked to benefit from unemployment: six months over the last two years today. Here too, we can imagine either saying that we need to work more or that the six months can be assessed over a shorter period of time”, he indicated. Finally, the third possibility is the evolution of the level of unemployment compensation. But this last option “less my preference than the previous ones” underlined the head of government. Who wants the parameters to be presented this summer, so that the reform is in force “in autumn”.
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Read alsoUnemployment insurance: the executive’s options for saving money
“We have to get out of the shackles of 35 hours a week”
Totem of a world of work since Martine Aubry’s reform in 2000, the 35-hour week has undergone several adjustments since its implementation without being completely abolished. So what about a potential work week in four days? Gabriel Attal assured that he was not in favor of a reduction in “the duration of work”. However, he wants experiments in many more companies.
“We have to get out of this straitjacket of 35 hours a week,” estimated the head of government. “There are public officials who say they want to work their hours but over four days rather than five. This would reduce the inequality between French people who can telework and those who cannot. We must give more flexibility to those who wish it”, also urged the Prime Minister. The latter hears “may the French be free, may they be masters of their destiny.” “That’s why I’m so attached to work. When we work, we still have more means,” said Gabriel Attal. Who will bring together the social partners on this issue.
“Reductions in contributions” planned to “further encourage the increase” of low salaries
In his great operation of “desmicardization”the Prime Minister also wants to review the contribution reduction system “to further encourage employees to increase their salary”. On this question, Gabriel Attal entrusted a mission to two economists, “who must make (him) proposals on the subject in June”.
“Too many French people are dying at work”: Attal announces a “major initiative”
While the number of deaths at work tends to increase, Gabriel Attal affirmed that there was “too many French people who die (there)”. “We cannot accept this situation and therefore I am going to bring together all the partners, social partners, elected officials, parliamentarians so that there is a major initiative taken on this subject”announced the Prime Minister.
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