On the afternoon of July 15th, local time, French Prime Minister Bé鲁 announced the government’s fiscal budget plan for 2026.
The government plans to save 43.8 billion euros in national and social security budgets over four years to alleviate the fiscal deficit crisis and restore public finance stability. However, President Macron recently proposed an additional 3.5 billion euro budget for defense, making the already complex fiscal scheme even more challenging.
Bé鲁 stated that measures such as freezing some government spending, reducing the number of civil servants, cutting social welfare, reducing public holidays, and imposing temporary taxes on high-income earners are already included in the plan. Additionally, the announcement of this budget plan took into account multiple complex and uncertain factors: the uncertainty of international trade caused by the US reimposing tariffs, and geopolitical turmoil triggered by the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
That morning, Bé鲁 visited the Elysee Palace with President Macron to discuss this budget plan. It was reported that Bé鲁 had communicated with President Macron several times in the past few days. Last Saturday, he held a coordination meeting with relevant ministers at the Prime Minister’s Office to discuss this issue. (CCTV Reporter: Ma Jinjin)