The Prime Minister of France announced his plan on Tuesday to balance the country’s books: his most eye-catching intention is to scrap two public holidays. In addressing the nation, Francois Bayrou warned that France’s out-of-control public spending has left the country in ‘mortal danger’. It was imperative to reduce the public deficit by 43.8 billion euros by 2026, explained Bayrou. ‘It’s the last stop before the cliff, before we are crushed by the debt. It’s late, but there is still time.’
The holidays Bayrou wants to jettison are Easter Monday and 8 May (VE Day), two of the eleven annual public holidays in France. Britain has eight.
Bayrou has taken a huge gamble in demanding a sacrifice from ‘Nicolas’ and his generation
Mr Bayrou said Easter Monday ‘has no religious significance’, a view that might be contested by some. Meanwhile, his desire to scrap VE Day was denounced by Jordan Bardella, the president of the National Rally, who said it was ‘a direct attack on our history, our roots, and on working France’.
This is a familiar theme for Bardella. In a speech on 1 May this year, he declared that ‘the France that works feels like it is being sacrificed’. He is attempting to pitch his party as the one that represents the hard-working, law-abiding, tax-paying people of France, as opposed to the left, which props up the welfare state, and Emmanuel Macron’s centrists, who are interested in keeping the rich and the retired in the manner to which they have become accustomed.
Certainly, a growing number in France believe that too many people are milking the country’s generous social welfare model. A survey earlier this year found that 76 per cent agree that ‘there is too much welfare in France’, and that the model ‘does not encourage people to make an effort’.
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On Tuesday, Bayrou said everyone must make an effort to save the country from going the same way as Greece fifteen years ago. ‘We must never forget the story of Greece,’ he warned. France’s public debt has reached 114 per cent of the country’s GDP, nearly double the 60 per cent limit set by the EU. Only Greece and Italy have more debt among the 27 EU nations. Bayrou’s objective is to reduce the public budget deficit from 5.8 per cent of its GDP in 2024 to 4.6 per cent in 2026.
As well as scrapping two public holidays, Bayrou announced a freeze on the scales used to calculate taxes, welfare benefits and pensions in 2026. There will also be a freeze on government spending, except for the military budget. On Sunday, Macron unveiled a plan to boost defence spending in the next two years by €6.5 billion (£5.6 billion).
Bayrou has also told local authorities to reduce their spending in 2026 by €5.3 billion (£4.6 billion) and there will be a €5 billion (£4.3 billion) reduction in the country’s healthcare budget.
The Prime Minister also said that the retired would be required to do their bit. This will entail abolishing the 10 per cent tax allowance for pensioners and instead introducing a deduction of €2,000 (£1,730) for all pensioners. The Finance Minister, Eric Lombard, appeared on television last night to explain in more detail some of the new measures:
For all pensioners who are at the beginning of the tax scale…their taxation will drop. To compensate, the taxation of pensioners earning more than €20,000 (£17,300) a year will be slightly increased, which is a measure of social justice.
Lombard reiterated Bayrou’s warning about the gravity of the situation, blaming it on the fact that ‘we haven’t had a balanced budget in fifty years’.
This situation has benefited baby boomers, who in recent years have come to be increasingly resented by millennials. They are held responsible for overseeing the economic, social and cultural decline of France, now enjoying lives of luxury while their children and grandchildren suffer the consequences.
This is a generalisation but one with a kernel of truth: this resentment has crystallised in recent months into a social media meme: ‘It’s Nicolas Who Pays’. Nicolas is a millennial in full-time employment who pays exorbitant taxes in order that boomers can enjoy a comfortable old age. This has led to what many in France now describe as a ‘war of generations’ between the two age groups.
Is it boomers who are to blame or successive governments who have pandered to the most powerful demographic? One in three registered voters in France are retirees, and one in two are those who vote in elections. In the last two presidential elections, the over 65s have been key to Macron’s success; in 2017, 80 per cent voted for him over Marine Le Pen.
It would be political suicide to alienate this demographic. But Bayrou has also taken a huge gamble in once again demanding a sacrifice from ‘Nicolas’ and his generation. The National Rally and the left have both expressed opposition to his plan and threatened to pass a vote of no confidence in the government. It’s not just France in ‘mortal danger’. So is Bayrou.
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