The government of France has decided to make an additional reduction of about 5 billion euros in expenses in an additional effort to meet the deficit target of 5.4% by 2025 and restore public finances in a sustainable way.
Following the second meeting of the Public Finance Alert Committee this year, the government decided to reduce state financing by 3 billion euros. “These funds will not be compromised this year. An additional reserve will be announced in the coming weeks,” the government said.
Another measure involves cutting 1.7 billion euros in health insurance spending. After the Alert Alert Committee, moderation measures were announced. These will include the immediate implementation of certain provisions of the Social Security Financing Law, the cancellation of certain reserves and the strengthening of medical control measures.
The Public Finance Alert Committee was summoned by the Minister of Labor, Health, Solidarity and Families, Catherine Vautrin, Economic Minister Eric Lombard, Regional Planning Minister François Rebsamen and Minitra responsible for public accounts, Amélie de Montchalin in Bercy.
The French government statement cites that although revenues are currently, in general, with the provisions of the initial finance law, there are pressures on the side of expenses.
With regard to the state, despite the 5 billion euros of control measures since the beginning of the year, the risk of budgetary breaches for some ministries persist.
Regarding social security, the Alert Committee estimates the risk of overcoming expenses by more than 1.3 billion euros, which is explained in particular by the dynamics of daily subsidies, the expenses of public health facilities and certain measures not yet implemented.
The government also said that operating expenses are increasing slightly faster than expected, particularly at the municipal level.
