French Senate Leader Warns of Limited Economic Resilience
Gerard Larcher said on BFM TV that France is “over-indebted and overtaxed,” arguing that it is now unable to effectively absorb external shocks. He stressed that “The truth must be told to the French,” adding that today’s difficulties are the result of policy choices made over the past decade.
He also said, “We are paying for the lack of decisions over the past ten years. We are paying for the ‘whatever it takes,’” referring to extensive public spending during the COVID-19 period. In his view, public expenditure was not sufficiently reduced afterward and necessary structural reforms were not implemented.
Larcher extended this criticism to the two presidential terms of Emmanuel Macron, calling for a nationwide discussion next year on restoring economic stability and “how to put the country back on track.”
His remarks follow the government’s announcement of spending cuts estimated between €4 billion (around $4.3 billion) and €6 billion (about $6.4 billion), introduced in response to the economic fallout linked to the Middle East conflict.
He also suggested that further fiscal tightening may be required, pointing to an upcoming meeting of the public finance alert committee scheduled for June. “There will be another meeting in June of the public finances alert committee, and we will see, depending on international developments, whether there will be a need for additional freezes or reinforced spending cuts,” he said.
Larcher added that parliamentarians are closely following developments and had already issued warnings to the government during discussions on the 2026 budget framework.
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