the National Assembly rejects the 2023-2027 trajectory proposed by the government

On Tuesday, October 25, the National Assembly rejected the 2023-2027 budget programming bill, a so-called “steering” text which plans to bring the public deficit below 3% of GDP in 2027. Examined at first reading, the text was rejected by 309 votes against 243, with a coalition of oppositions. The government intends to defend it again in the Senate.

This setback was expected, in the absence of an absolute majority for the Macronists in the Assembly. “The oppositions invented the vote of self-censorship, they deprive themselves of essential instruments to evaluate public action”denounced the Minister of Public Accounts, Gabriel Attal. “The text will continue to move through the Senate”he assured the deputies.

In an attempt to convince the Assembly, Gabriel Attal had affirmed that the rejection of the text could provoke “a delay, a delay or even an amputation of European funds” paid into France’s recovery plan. When questioned, the European Commission did not specifically confirm such a risk, before recalling the attachment of the European Council to “the sustainability of France’s debt ratio”.

“We won’t have any more European aid? That doesn’t hold up. The rejection this afternoon puts the government in difficulty in its relations with Brussels, that’s true. But they (the government) can always say: blows of 49.3 we will vote each year a budget and a law on financing Social Security in line with what we had planned to do”reacted for his part the deputy Charles de Courson (Liot group), a regular budget.

The government has already triggered Article 49.3 twice to pass the revenue components of the State budget and Social Security without a vote. Apart from these budget bills, he can only use it on one other text per session. The government did not wish to grill this cartridge on the programming law. This text also provides for stability in the number of civil servants during the five-year term.