Bercy expects a public deficit even a little worse than expected

Michel Barnier’s government may have to review its figures in its draft budget currently being debated in the National Assembly. The Minister of the Economy, Finance and Industry Antoine Armand estimated on LCI on Sunday that France’s deficit could ultimately reach 6.2% in 2024.

Asked about the public deficit, currently forecast in the draft budget at 6.1%, the tenant of Bercy estimated that it would be “a little more than 6%”, “between 6.1 and 6. 2% in all likelihood.” “We’ll see in the next few days,” he added.

A budgetary effort of 60 billion

The government wants to reduce this figure to 5% of GDP by 2025 via a budgetary effort of 60 billion euros, 20 billion of which comes from tax increases and 40 billion from spending reductions.

The public deficit suffered a heavy slippage in 2024, since the former government forecast 5.1% for this year. The Finance Committee of the National Assembly, for its part, asked to obtain the powers of a commission of inquiry to look into this subject, when its counterpart in the Senate relaunched an information mission on the deterioration of public accounts .