The alarm over the potential consequences for France of failing to pass the state budget for 2025 and toppling its government was raised by Prime Minister Michel Barnier, who cited the example of Greece.
In an interview with the French newspaper Le Figaro, Barnier said he was prepared to adapt the draft budget to meet, to some extent, the demands of the opposition, starting with those of the party of Marine Le Pen, which in recent days has threatened to vote against one of the form proposals that left-wing parties have announced they intend to table.
In that case his Barnier government will fall.
On the “serious turbulence” that could occur, Barnier said the following: “Some may be tempted to trivialise the risks to absolve themselves of responsibility. That is not my temperament. I just keep telling the truth to the French people. Not passing the budget and overthrowing the government would inevitably lead to an increase in interest rates for the state and therefore for businesses and the French people.
” There is already great concern, as shown by the spreads that today mean that France is borrowing more expensively than Greece. Do we want the interest on the debt alone to become the largest item in the national budget in the future, ahead of education and defence?“.
In the same vein, perhaps somewhat more reassuringly, French Finance Minister Antoine Armand told a TV station that “France is not Greece” because “it has an economy and a situation of employment, activity, attractiveness, and an economic and demographic strength that is much greater.”
At the same time, however, he stressed that countries like Greece, Italy and Spain “did their job” because they “rolled up their sleeves and said to their compatriots, it will be difficult, but we will make savings”.
He assured that there is no question of collapse for France, but that there is a risk, like an airplane at altitude that at some point loses control.” “But there is a way out, which is none other than the budget road,” the French finance minister concluded.
