Paris (The Brussels Morning Newspaper) – France seeks an extension of the EU deadline for the deficit plan as Barnier faces a budget crisis and political tensions.
France has asked the European Commission to expand beyond Sept. 20 its deadline for submitting a program to reduce its public deficit to assure coherence with Paris’ 2025 draft budget.
Can France secure an EU extension for its deficit plan?
France could witness its budget deficit spiral suddenly higher this year and next if extra savings are not found, the finance ministry stated in a letter to lawmakers earlier this month, as the euro zone’s second-biggest economy slips deeper into political crisis. The deteriorating finances have placed Paris into EU disciplinary proceedings and left incoming Prime Minister Michel Barnier facing tough questions as he looks to create a new government and prepare a budget by Oct. 1 with the threat of a parliamentary vote of no-confidence riding over him.
“France has asked for such an extension,” the finance ministry was cited as saying in La Tribune, without specifying how long it had requested. This was to “ensure the coherence of the project and the 2025 draft budget,” the ministry stated.
The financial shortfall suggests Barnier’s new government could face difficult choices between cutting spending and hiking taxes or losing credibility with France’s EU partners and financial markets. Macron called 73-year-old Barnier, a conservative and the former Brexit negotiator for the European Union, as prime minister, restricting a two-month search following his determination to call a legislative election that eventually delivered a hung parliament.
What steps is Barnier taking to stabilize France’s finances?
Barnier stated that he would not be able to achieve miracles and wanted to put order back into France’s finances. He persisted in consultations as he looked to create a government, a tricky job given he faced a potential no-confidence vote.
How could the RN and NFP shape Barnier’s government’s future?
The leftist New Popular Front (NFP) alliance, the biggest bloc in parliament, and the far-right National Rally (RN) together have a bulk and could oust the prime minister through a no-confidence vote should they decide to cooperate. The RN gave its implicit approval for Barnier, citing many requirements for it to not back a no-confidence vote, making it the de facto kingmaker for the new government.
Marine Le Pen expressed her party wanted to notice Barnier implement measures that would admire the 11 million people who had voted for it.
“If in the coming weeks the French are forgotten or badly treated we won’t hesitate to vote against the government,”
she said at a public meeting in northern France.
