PARIS ― The French government said it will cut nearly €5 billion in spending this year to help meet its budget deficit target of 5.4 percent of gross domestic product.
The economy ministry said Thursday that cuts were required because state spending this year has been higher than the 2025 budget accounted for — though the amount of money brought in by tax revenues is in line with expectations, at least for now.
The government will slash €3 billion from the central state budget and €1.7 billion from its social security spending in addition to €5 billion that was lopped off in April. The initial budget passed earlier this year included €53 billion in spending cuts and tax hikes.
“The additional effort decided today reflects a clear determination to act without delay to meet our targets for controlling public finances and debt,” Economy and Finance Minister Eric Lombard said in a statement.
Measures to reduce healthcare spending include lowering the amount spent in reimbursing drugs and medical services, while government ministries will be asked to tighten their belts in order to rein in the state budget — which is tabulated separately from the social security budget.
France has struggled in recent years to rein in public spending. Fresh data from the country’s statistics agency, Insee, showed that the country accrued an additional €40.5 billion of debt during the first three months of this year, putting the country €3.3 trillion in the red — a new record.
The government has committed to bringing its budget deficit, which came in at 5.8 percent of GDP in 2024, back down to 3 percent by 2029 as required by EU rules. And Prime Minister François Bayrou committed to finding another €40 billion in savings for next year’s budget, though his minority government may not last long enough to see its plans through.
The prime minister no longer enjoys the tacit support of the center-left Socialist Party, which filed a motion of no-confidence against his government after Bayrou’s much-hyped retirement reform “conclave” fell apart without an agreement.
Bayrou is expected to survive the censure, as Marine Le Pen’s National Rally said it would not vote to topple Bayrou right now. But the far-right party has made it clear it may try to take down his government in the fall, when budget discussions for 2026 will be in full swing.
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