French PM Urges 2027 Spending Freeze to Save Budget

Moscow (ANTARA) - French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu has requested that the government maintain spending for 2027 at the same level as this year, excluding defence expenditure, in order to reduce the fiscal deficit, according to a report by the broadcasting station BFMTV on Tuesday.

Finance Minister Roland Lescure stated in July that the government would be unable to achieve the target of reducing the budget deficit to below 5 per cent by 2026.

Lecornu reportedly sent a letter to ministers amidst growing concerns regarding the country’s economy.

When taking inflation into account, maintaining spending at the same level would effectively result in a reduction in real expenditure.

The proposed spending freeze would only apply to central government expenditure and would not impact local government budgets or social security.

At the end of June, France’s national debt reached a new record high, exceeding 3.5 trillion euros (approximately Rp71.3 quadrillion) for the first time.

Previously, the Bank of France warned that the country faced a “budgetary stranglehold” unless the government reduced the fiscal deficit.