Under Prime Minister Michel Barnier, France’s government secured EU approval for both its 2025 budget and its longer-term fiscal strategy before being ousted last week following a failed confidence vote in parliament. Barnier’s economic measures were unable to gain the backing of either the far-right or the left-wing parliamentary factions, both of which hold decisive influence over legislative outcomes.
Both France and the Netherlands are under pressure to implement additional spending cuts, according to EU officials. “This is not only in the interest of France but in the interest of Europe as a whole,” said one senior official.
Despite France’s deficit and debt levels exceeding those of the Netherlands, European Economy Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis emphasized last week that EU fiscal rules take into account each country’s starting position. He also noted that France’s proposed spending cuts were comparatively “more ambitious.”
The European Commission has long been accused of showing leniency toward France, the EU’s second-largest economy. Over the past 22 years, France’s deficit—the gap between government spending and revenue—has exceeded the EU’s threshold of 3 percent of GDP in 18 of those years.
France’s 2025 budget is expected to be unveiled at the beginning of next year. In the absence of a new medium-term fiscal plan, the budget previously outlined by Barnier and greenlit by the EU is set to be officially adopted by European governments in January. This would make the proposed spending cuts binding for French governments over the next seven years.
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