Discussions on the French budget got off to a tense start in the National Assembly this week as the opposition dismissed the proposed fiscal plan as “austerity” and the government insisted that it protects households.
Read the original French article here.
Monday (10 October) marked the beginning of discussions on two bills: the French national budget for 2023 and the public finance programme for 2023-2027. The latter will be used to map budgetary priorities for the next five years, particularly regarding public spending, and debt in the context of France’s European commitments.
The budget debate opened with speeches by Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire and Public Accounts Minister Gabriel Attal.
Accused by both the left and the far-right of presenting an austerity plan, Le Maire said he “[understood] perfectly well that parliamentary groups that are indifferent to the level of public debt will not vote for this law [of public finance programming 2023-2027]”.
However, the economy minister added that he was “surprised by the incoherence of parliamentarians who refuse to vote for a text that does go in this direction”, implicitly criticising right-wing MPs from the Les Républicains bloc, who tend to support a reduction of public debt.
The minister then advised them to “remain faithful to their convictions, rather than join forces with the [left-wing coalition] NUPES or the [far-right] Rassemblement National.”
Le Maire defended the government’s budget, saying that it protects households in the face of inflation, particularly as it proposes prolonging the tariff shield France set up for energy prices so that it applies in 2023 – at a cost the government estimates at €46 billion.
Along with the continued reduction in production taxes – business value added tax and business property tax – this measure is intended to help French industry, explained Le Maire.
He said the government also intends to increase teachers’ salaries and recruit 3,000 more police officers over the next year.
‘Lack of seriousness’
Le Maire also criticised the opposition for adopting amendments in committee that would cost more than €7 billion, arguing it proved a “lack of seriousness.”
Attal, for his part, warned against attempts at parliamentary obstruction, voicing concern that the “3,500 amendments tabled” could lead to a “bottleneck” in parliamentary life.
He also urged lawmakers not to put on a “show of stalemate at a time when [the French] need our country to be up to the challenge” – a possibly veiled warning that government lawmakers may use Article 49.3 of the constitution, which allows bills to pass without a vote.
The ‘debate must take place’
But using this constitutional tool could indeed lead to other parties filing a motion of no-confidence in the government, which would lead to a continued stalemate at a time when adopting a budget to help households with inflation would be critical.
The right-wing camp views the proposed budget as too expensive and not providing for enough savings, for example through a de-bureaucratisation of the state.
The far-right of Marine Le Pen, however, sees it as surrendering to the EU, since the government plans to respect the criteria of the stability pact (notably the 3% budget deficit) from 2027.
According to the left, it is more of a return to austerity that would cause social injustice, especially since it does not provide for a wage increase commensurate with their demands (+10%) and because there is no general tax on ‘windfall’ profits.
As no one outside of the government’s majority MPs – who only have a relative majority in parliament – is interested in backing the budget proposed by the government, the use of article 49.3, which allows the adoption of the budget without a parliamentary vote, is highly possible.
Representing the radical-left La France Insoumise, Éric Coquerel, parliament’s finance committee president, also said he believes the government’s budget is based on “objectively overestimated growth and objectively underestimated inflation forecasts” but called on the government not to bypass the vote since the “debate must take place”.
Faced with accusations that the government wanted to avoid the debate, Attal turned the tables on La France Insoumise, which had itself signed two motions calling for the rejection, without debate, of the two budget bills. Both were rejected, even by other opposition groups from the right and the far right.
“You don’t know how to explain how you would protect [the French people], how you would finance your measures,” he told the leftist MPs.
“When was the last time a demonstration filled the fridge of the French?” he asked, referring to the rising living cost march NUPES is organising for 16 October.
Meanwhile, far-right leader Marine Le Pen stressed that her group, the second biggest in parliament, “will try to improve” the bill that she views as unfair and costly. She will push her party to adopt an attitude of “constructive opposition”, she added.
As tensions remain high and parties seem ready to pull out their cards if necessary, the debate is set to continue in the following days – unless the government draws Article 49.3 to pass the budget bill.
French 2023 budget tackles inflation but faces uncertainty in assembly
The French budget for 2023 presented on Monday increases spending by €7.5 billion compared to 2021, but with a lack of majority in the assembly, passing the bill could be tough and risk a government-toppling no-confidence vote.
The budget of some …
[Edited by Zoran Radosavljevic]
Source: euractiv.com
