europe

Surprising no one.

The new prime minister promised to abandon a proposed tightening on sick leave for public employees and to maintain a windfall tax on high earners already included in the draft budget rolled over from the Barnier government.

Moreover, what retreats Bayrou has pointed to amount to minor tweaks to a budgetary framework largely focused on spending cuts, with a few exceptional levies to deflect criticism of a lack of fiscal justice. Bayrou has, however, slightly walked back his predecessor’s proposed budgetary tightening for 2025. If Barnier hoped to lower the deficit to 5 percent of GDP in the new year, his successor is aiming for a figure at around 5.4 percent. France finished 2024 with a budget deficit at 6.1 percent of GDP, more than twice the nominal European Union limit.