2024-01-08 20:38:57
Published on Jan 8, 2024 at 6:28 p.m. Updated on Jan 8, 2024 at 7:38 p.m.
If he still had dreams of Matignon hidden in the corner of his head, at least he managed to give the impression. While the great upheaval of the government team was on everyone’s lips, Bruno Le Maire made a point this Monday of embodying a form of continuity at Bercy to restore reformist momentum to the five-year term. This is the message he sent during his greetings to economic players – the seventh since his arrival in 2017 – even though his concrete projects remain vague and limited for the moment.
“Everything has changed in seven years, except my enthusiasm, my commitment and my determination,” attacked the Minister of Economy and Finance. Before concluding, for those who suspect him of always having the desire to move around, while rumor already had him going to the IMF a year ago: “In this year 2024 which is a year of all international dangers but also of all the opportunities for France, there is no room for qualms or hesitations. There is only room for clarity and determination,” he assured.
Extension of reign
The many leaders present in the room, however, noticed that the solitary Bruno Le Maire took great care this year to highlight the four other ministers working until now under his control – “the Bercy team” – that he everyone applauds. As if, even far from Matignon, he would not mind appearing as a “second prime minister” reigning over a large powerful pole, if he were to be reappointed.
But what does the record holder for longevity at Bercy under the Fifth Republic want to do with a possible extension of his reign? “What we have accomplished is considerable, what we still have to accomplish is even more important,” he explained. Except that after the strong activity of the first seven years, its bag remains for the moment, in comparison, quite scant in terms of new projects. He just mentioned for spring 2024 a law on the attractiveness of France and new measures for the simplification of standards for businesses. The measured reaction from the audience shows that leaders still need to be convinced on the subject, after numerous attempts by previous governments.
For the rest, Bruno Le Maire hopes to appear as the compass always indicating the path to reform for the majority, when some wonder about the direction given by the needle to the Elysée. Even from Bercy, we can take regal accents and the Minister of the Economy has promised “firmness and authority” in the fight against fraud – with tougher measures for the recovery of fines or the freezing of the assets of drug traffickers.
At least 12 billion in savings
As for the French social model, the one which remains for the moment the tenant of Bercy intends to “complete its transformation”. While he had already stepped on the toes of the Minister of Labor, Olivier Dussopt, a few weeks ago, he put back on the table his proposal to revise downwards the duration of unemployment compensation for workers over 55 years. An essential measure in his eyes to move towards full employment. The former minister of Nicolas Sarkozy also wants to recreate “a dynamic of wages” in France, relying in particular on the report of economists around reductions in charges “to fight against the minimum wage of our society”.
Finally, the big financier made the little music of the recovery of public accounts ring again in the ears of his fellow ministers, which was part of Emmanuel Macron’s promises in 2017. “We will be uncompromising on unfunded ministerial announcements,” he said. -he rocks. This explains the government’s decision at the end of December to cut the ecological bonus for electric cars. In Bercy, some are also worried about the cost of projects to generalize the Universal National Service.
But the hardest part is to come, with the preparation of next year’s budget. “We must find at least 12 billion euros of
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