PARIS (Reuters) – France’s public deficit in relation to gross domestic product (GDP) must not exceed 4.8% in 2026 if we want to achieve the objective of 3% in 2029, declared François Villeroy de Galhau, governor of the Banque de France (BdF).
“We have four years to reduce the deficit by 2.4%. We must go a quarter of the way in the first year. We must reduce by at least 0.6. So I believe that it would be desirable for the deficit not to exceed 4.8% in 2026,” he declared on RTL.
The governor of the Bank of France considers it necessary to reduce deficits because, he says, “all of Europe is watching us” and “investors can sanction us on the markets.”
“The objective is 3% in 2029, that is a commitment that we have made to Europe,” he insisted.
“3% in 2029 is what finally allows us to stabilize the weight of the debt in relation to the size of our economy,” he added.
Emmanuel Macron must announce by the end of the day the appointment of a new Prime Minister after the sudden resignation on Monday of Sébastien Lecornu.
Time is running out because to have a budget for 2026 adopted by the end of the year, a finance bill must be presented to the Council of Ministers no later than Monday and then transmitted to Parliament.
On Thursday, the resigning Minister of Economy and Finance Roland Lescure assured that France would present a budget “in line” with its European commitments.
(Written by Claude Chendjou, edited by Blandine Hénault)
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