What are the socio-economic issues awaiting the future government?

The 2025 budget, which must be examined by Parliament from October 1, and the pension reform, which the left and the far right are demanding be repealed, could occupy the first weeks of the Barnier government. But other subjects await it.

Budget, deficit, pensions, unemployment insurance, housing… Michel Barnier’s future government to be unveiled “next week”as the new Prime Minister assured during his trip to Reims (Marne) on Wednesday, September 11, he will have to quickly tackle several issues, some of which must be addressed without delay, such as the budget.

The finance bill must in fact be presented to the Assembly on October 1. The parliamentary session should also be marked by discussions around the pension reform, which both the New Popular Front (NFP) and the National Rally (RN) want to repeal. Franceinfo lists the thorny issues awaiting the Barnier government.

Closing the 2025 budget

Barely appointed, the Ministers of Economy and Public Accounts will have to get down to the business of finalizing the thorny 2025 budget, the examination of which in Parliament must begin no later than October 1, for promulgation on the following January 1. By then, the draft finance bill must be submitted to the Council of State and the High Council of Public Finances. Before the Finance Committee of the National Assembly, the resigning Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, had stated that he was “dwithin the deadlines” for an examination start on October 1st.

The ceiling letters, which determine the staff numbers and resources allocated to each ministry, were sent to the various ministries at the end of August. The resigning Prime Minister, Gabriel Attal, had at the time validated a stable budget of 492 billion euros for the year 2025, with an increase in Defense credits and ten billion euros of savings, notably on employment and apprenticeships. It remains to be seen whether Michel Barnier will take up this copy or modify it.

Controlling the public accounts deficit

The public accounts deficit, which reached 5.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2023 according to INSEE, could further deteriorate. In a letter sent to parliamentarians in early September and consulted by franceinfo, Bruno Le Maire warns that it could reach 5.6% of GDP in 2024, instead of the 5.1% hoped for. It would even widen to 6.2% of GDP in 2025 instead of 4.1%, if 60 billion euros of savings were not made next year, according to Bercy.

While it has been the target of a European procedure for excessive deficit since the end of July,France discusses with the European Commission a new date for sending its plan multi-annual budget. Faced with the situation, Michel Barnier “no more tax justice is prohibited”. “I’m going toto strive, with the various ministers who will be appointed, to better control and better use public money”, he said during his first interview on TF1 on Friday September 6, affirming that he “We’re tired of writing blank checks for future generations, regarding ecology as well as public finances”.

Opening the debate on pension reform

The pension reform, which provides for a gradual increase in the retirement age to 64 instead of 62, is also likely to animate the first weeks of parliament. Its repeal is demanded by many deputies and unions. The RN has thus planned to use its parliamentary niche, on October 31, to repeal it.. If the left has not said whether it would vote for a text proposed by the RN, The NFP and its 193 deputies had made the repeal of the law one of the key themes of the legislative campaign. And La France Insoumise submitted a text to this effect during the summer.

Michel Barnier said he wanted “open the debate” for a “improvement” of the reform. Without however “question everything”. “I want to initiate an improvement on this subject, but within the budgetary framework”explained the new tenant of Matignon during his first interview, who was in favor of raising the legal age to 65 when he was a candidate in the Republican primary in 2021. In this thorny issue, Michel Barnier will also have to deal with the Macronists, who refuse any turning back.

Deciding the Future of Unemployment Insurance Reform

On the evening of the first round of the legislative elections, former Prime Minister Gabriel Attal decided to suspend the controversial reform of unemployment insurance. The text, which was to come into force on December 1, planned to reduce the maximum duration of compensation from eighteen to fifteen months for people under the age of 57, while extending the working time required to be eligible (eight months out of the last twenty, compared to six months out of twenty-four currently).

While the current rules have been extended by decree until October 31, what will happen after that? It will be up to the next government to decide on the rules from November 1. By resuming the current reform or by opening new negotiations with social partners to establish a new formula.

Improving access to public services

During his transfer of power with Gabriel Attal, Michel Barnier set several priorities, including: “access to public services”. A theme that he brought up again the next day, during his first interview, evoking “a huge need in urban areas, but also in the countryside.” Words that echo the broad outlines of the “legislative pact” presented by his party, Les Républicains, in July.

The Prime Minister made his first visit to Necker Hospital in Paris on Saturday, September 7. If he mentioned “savings to be made” In the health sector, the Prime Minister also wished “that rapid progress is visible in the countryside, in the provision of care (…) at the same time as we continue to work to make the hospital function better, with the staff.”

Rekindling discussions on end of life

The dissolution of the National Assembly in June put a stop to the end-of-life bill, whose first reading, which began at the end of May, ended without going to a vote. This reform was one of the most emblematic of Emmanuel Macron’s second five-year term.

The future of this “great social law” is uncertain for the moment, while Michel Barnier’s political family is mostly opposed to it.. For the text to be examined again, it will have to be put back on the agenda of the National Assembly. The Association for the Right to Die with Dignity (ADMD), which welcomed the “a lot of circumspection” the appointment of the Prime Minister, asked Michel Barnier that “the discussions” on the end of life resume “as soon as possible”.