Budget: Lecornu Rejects Several Demands from the Left

He said he wanted to reach out to the PS. However, the Prime Minister on Friday rejected the Zucman tax, the ISF and the suspension of pension reform.

After having increased the number of consultations, Sébastien Lecornu dismissed Friday evening in an interview with Le Parisien any desire to “poach” personalities from the PS – which itself does not want to enter the government – because its future ministers will have to “share the main orientations of the common base” composed of the right and the center.

Excluded tracks

He does not lift the veil much on the content of his budget but rules out several avenues, such as the return of the wealth tax abolished since 2017 or the Zucman tax, all demands of the unions and the left. “Should we still increase taxes overall? I don’t want it”, says the Prime Minister, faithful to Emmanuel Macron’s tax mantra, even if “some will increase” and “others will decrease” in the next budget.

Another request from part of the left, the suspension of pension reform does not seem to be on the agenda: this option “would not solve any of the problems” that for him are the situation of women and arduousness at work, he said, and “no one wants a new conclave on pensions” which ended in failure.

“A blank sheet”

Sébastien Lecornu nevertheless assures that the next budget will not be “austerity and social regression”, and will start from a “blank sheet” that parliamentarians are invited to fill out. He therefore erases the plan of his predecessor François Bayrou which provided for 44 billion euros in savings. He outlines some means to achieve this: reducing the State’s “lifestyle” by 6 billion euros, “better control of social spending and local authorities”, as well as an “ambitious bill to combat against social and tax fraud” which will be presented to the Council of Ministers at the same time as the draft budgets.

The new tenant of Matignon also affirms that “the resources devoted to pensions” will increase by six billion euros, and those for health by five billion.

While the country’s debt swelled further in the second quarter, reaching 115.6% of GDP, he says he is now targeting a deficit of 4.7%, instead of 4.6%, an objective that he nevertheless considers “fully compatible ” with that of 3% in 2029, which remains unchanged.

Reconciliation with the RN?

If the Prime Minister seems to close the door to the demands of the socialists, the Rassemblement National will once again become the arbiter and the last political force on which it could rely to avoid falling. In this regard, Sébastien Lecornu says he wants to “examine” possible developments in State Medical Aid (AME) for undocumented immigrants, in the crosshairs of the right and the extreme right but defended by the left. This week he received the authors of a report on this system intended for foreigners in an irregular situation.

Regarding the decree of the third multi-annual energy programming, France’s energy roadmap, he rules out any idea of a moratorium on renewable energies to avoid censorship of the RN, denying information from the online media Context. “On the other hand, as with any euro of public money spent, no rent will be tolerated”, he says.

“The account is not there”, according to the CFDT

“The account is not there” immediately reacted the number two of the CFDT Yvan Ricordeau, who plans with the other unions a new day of mobilization on Thursday. “When I read this interview, I choke”, commented Socialist Party spokesperson Arthur Delaporte. The leader of La France insoumise, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, calls on the rest of the left to vote on the motion of censure which will be tabled by his deputies from the start of the parliamentary session which opens on the 1st october with the renewal of key positions in the National Assembly.

The new government promised before Wednesday

The Prime Minister announced that he would appoint his government “before the start of parliamentary work”, scheduled for Wednesday 1st october, in an interview with Le Parisien published Friday. “I would like to continue working on the draft budget. Ministers who want to return to government will have to endorse it”, he explained, seeming to exclude any desire to “poach” personalities from the Socialist Party because future ministers will have to “share the main orientations of the common base”.