On Tuesday, a Senate inquiry condemned previous administrations for their ‘budgetary irresponsibility,’ linking their actions to France’s escalating public deficit, projected to reach 6.1% of GDP by 2024. Key political figures were criticized for a slow response to financial issues, with concerns raised about wasted time due to government reshuffles. The investigation revealed internal warnings about the budgetary crisis were ignored. The Senate is preparing to discuss the 2025 budget, while the National Assembly plans its own inquiry.
On Tuesday, a parliamentary mission from the Senate issued a scathing critique of past governments, highlighting what they termed ‘budgetary irresponsibility’ and a ‘damaging wait-and-see attitude’ that has contributed to the alarming state of public finances.
High-profile figures such as Bruno Le Maire, Gabriel Attal, Elisabeth Borne, and Emmanuel Macron were all implicated in the Senate’s findings, which followed a series of hearings aimed at identifying accountability for France’s significant budgetary issues that have persisted for several months.
The investigation revealed that all previous administrations, including those at Bercy, Matignon, and the Elysée, are responsible for the growing public deficit, which is projected to hit 6.1% of GDP by the end of 2024. This figure is a stark increase from the earlier estimate of 4.4%. The deficit is not anticipated to dip below the EU’s 3% threshold until 2029, positioning France as a laggard among European nations.
Jean-François Husson, the rapporteur for this ‘flash’ mission from The Republicans, remarked, ‘Beyond a general sense of collective denial regarding public finances, there exists a palpable sense of irresponsibility from those in government at the time.’
Claude Raynal, the Socialist president of the Finance Committee, emphasized, ‘The government was aware of the precarious condition of our public finances as early as December 2023. In our view, a vigorous response should have been initiated, yet it was not.’
– The Consequences of Short-Sightedness –
The senators expressed concern that valuable time was wasted in addressing the financial discrepancies due to reshuffles and the prolonged delay in appointing a new Prime Minister. They criticized the lack of a corrective budget earlier in the year, attributing this to ‘short-sighted calculations’ made in light of impending European elections and the threat of censure.
The Senate’s investigation, initiated at the start of 2024 and recently reignited due to a more alarming deterioration of accounts, is concluding just as the Senate is set to review the draft state budget for 2025, which will be discussed in the chamber starting November 25.
Simultaneously, the National Assembly is gearing up to launch its own inquiry commission on this pressing issue in the coming weeks.
This matter holds significant weight during a precarious budgetary autumn for Michel Barnier’s government, which faces potential censure from the opposition in the National Assembly, where the ruling party is greatly outnumbered. Consequently, there is a strong incentive for the Senate, led by its right-wing majority, to swiftly address the situation to avoid further ‘pilot errors.’
Moreover, it offers an opportunity for The Republicans to distinguish themselves from the former Macronist majority, as they are now part of the government coalition, working to justify their backing of an unpopular budget that demands 60 billion euros in sacrifices from various sectors of the economy.
– Insights from Internal Communications –
The two senators contend that state services had been aware of the deteriorating public finances as early as late 2023, yet the government hesitated to take action or communicate effectively on the matter.
They reference multiple internal notes from the Treasury and a letter dated December 13, 2023, from Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire and Public Accounts Minister Thomas Cazenave to then-Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, urging her to address the ‘critical nature of (the) budgetary situation.’
The Senate mission expressed indignation over the ministers’ ‘double discourse,’ as the internal communications signaled an ‘alert’ to Ms. Borne, while their public comments remained reassuring at the time.
During hearings, former officials defended their actions, denying any allegations of ‘concealment’ and asserting they had effectively managed spending and responded promptly to economic shifts, notably by freezing billions in budgetary allocations.
They attributed the fiscal challenges primarily to an oversight in estimating tax revenues, which fell short by 41.5 billion euros compared to expectations.
Bruno Le Maire also redirected some blame towards his successors, criticizing Barnier’s government for failing to implement recovery measures that had been planned during the summer by the outgoing administration.
Gabriel Attal came to the defense of his former minister, denouncing what he termed a ‘scandalous political and media trial’ against him.