France's budget deficit widened more than forecast in 2023, official figures showed Tuesday, undermining President Emmanuel Macron's pledge to bring national finances back on track within the next four years.
The public deficit jumped to 5.5 percent of gross domestic product, or €154 billion, statistics agency INSEE said.
The government had warned recently that the deficit would exceed its previous estimate of 4.9 percent of GDP, citing the global economic slowdown and the war in Ukraine as key factors.
France has already announced €10 billion of spending cuts this year to limit the fallout and meet its deficit target for this year of 4.4 percent of GDP.
In mid-March, the Minister for Public Accounts, Thomas Cazenave estimated that it would be necessary to find at least €20 billion in savings for 2025, and announced new reviews of public spending, in particular those linked to long-term illnesses, aid to cinema or even absenteeism in the public service.
However, French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire said Tuesday that he was "totally opposed to any tax increase" to reduce the gap.
"We can perfectly make savings on public spending without digging into the pockets of the French," he told RTL radio.
Very rare
France's chief auditor Pierre Moscovici called the deficit "significant".
"We have been calculating this figure for a few days, but it is still a slippage in execution which is significant, not entirely unprecedented but very, very rare, he told France Inter radio.
Politicians from across the spectrum have reacted angrily on social media.
Leader of the right-wing Les Républicains party Eric Ciotti blamed Macron for this "disastrous record".
Senate Budget Rapporteur, Jean-François Husson wrote that "the government's policy is failing" placing the blame squarely on Le Maire's shoulders.
"It is a collapse of France's authority in Europe," he said, pointing to the fact that France is third most indebted countries in the euro zone.
Manuel Bompard, deputy of the far-left France Unbowed party said rather than cutting public spending, the government should "concentrate tax increases on the wealthiest people".
EU goals
Several deputies from the majority, including the president of the National Assembly Yaël Braun-Pivet, have also spoken in recent days of targeted tax increases or aimed at so-called superprofits.
Like all eurozone members, France is committed to keeping its deficit to below three percent of GDP and has promised to do so by 2027.
That requirement, agreed between European Union members as part of their Stability and Growth Pact, has been suspended since 2020 first to allow countries to deal with the Covid pandemic, and then with the economic fallout of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Prime Minister Gabriel Attal is expected to discuss the budget and employment issues during a live interview on national television on Wednesday evening.
A debate on public finances will be held in the National Assembly on 29 April, at the request of the Finance Committee of the lower house.
(with AFP)
