PARIS – France’s public deficit this year could be much worse than forecast as the country expects less tax revenue than previously thought.
The budget deficit – the difference between how much a country spends and receives – could reach 5.6 percent of the country’s GDP instead of the 5.1 previously forecast, according to a note sent by France’s finance ministry to lawmakers in charge of the budget on Monday, and received via POLITICO.
The note emphasized that this figure was not the country’s official deficit forecast but only a projected worst-case scenario.
Gloomy warning France is doing without a government and is under an EU investigation known as an excessive deficit procedure for spending too much in 2023.
France already Corrected Its deficit target for 2024 has risen to 5.1 percent of GDP from an initial 4.4 percent. It also missed its deficit target last year (5.5 percent of GDP instead of 4.9 percent.)
The outgoing government has made it clear that it will be up to its successor to present a budget for 2025 and address its spending plans to the European Commission as part of the excessive deficit process.
France is to send a multi-year plan to cut spending to Brussels by September 20, but this deadline could be extended to October 15. Under French law, the government has to present the budget to parliament by October 1.
To speed things up, the outgoing government has started preparations, Motion to freeze Spending at the same level as this year (€492 billion) rather than cutting significantly.
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