June 30, 2024
Spending promises likely to weigh on France’s public finances
France’s public finances are likely to suffer whichever bloc wins the snap election, according to AFP news agency.
The agency has summarized the spending promises made by each competing bloc, which it says lack detail and often ignore mathematical facts.
The far-right National Rally
If the National Rally wins, it wants to cut the value-added tax on sales on energy, partly financing the move, which it plans to start as early as July, by contributing €2 billion less to the EU budget. Although the bloc’s budget for 2021-2027 has already been voted on.
The savings will in any case not offset the loss in public revenue, which the union says would mean a €7 billion reduction for the public purse for the rest of this year and €12 billion in a full year.
However, the party also wants to impose a tax on exceptional profits from energy producers and force shipowners to pay regular corporate tax instead of the current tonnage tax.
Other expensive future plans include linking pensions to inflation, lowering the retirement age to 60 for people who started working at age 20 or earlier, exempting some workers under 30 from income tax, and raising the wages of teachers and nurses.
The Royal Navy will also do away with a retirement age increase in 2023 to 64 from 62, replacing it with a more progressive system that has not yet been decided.
New Left Popular Front
The New Popular Front says it intends to increase government employee wages by 10 percent, provide free school lunches, supplies and transportation, and increase housing subsidies by 10 percent.
It says it can finance this by imposing a tax on super profits and reintroducing a wealth tax on financial assets, each move which would raise €15 billion, according to the bloc.
The group also wants to freeze basic food and energy prices while raising the minimum wage by 14% with subsidies for small businesses that cannot handle the increase.
Other expensive measures planned include hiring more teachers and health care workers and providing subsidies for home isolation, which the union wants to finance by closing tax loopholes, making income tax more progressive and allowing families to inherit up to €12 million.
The National Labor Party also wants to scrap the 2023 increase in the retirement age, and eventually lower it to 60.
Unlike the Royal Army, it does not plan to cut the budget deficit in line with France’s commitments to its European Union partners.
He rejects the European Union’s financial rules.
The centrist “Together” coalition.
Macron’s party has said it is committed to reducing the budget deficit to the European Union’s ceiling of 3% of gross domestic product by 2027, but the possibility of achieving this has been called into question by institutions from the national auditor to the International Monetary Fund.
The party also pledged to cut electricity bills by 15% from 2025 and link pension increases to inflation.
The government also says it will raise public sector wages, without indicating how much.
The party says it will not introduce any broad tax increases and will increase the amount parents can give to their children tax-free.
