Yet Bayrou said such extreme measures are required to rein in France’s €3.3 trillion in public debt and lower a budget deficit that fell afoul of European rules during the pandemic and remains stubbornly high.
He likened France’s current situation to the debt crises of Greece and Spain in years past and vowed to act “quickly and decisively, but with fairness and justice.”
Bayrou said he and his ministers were looking at trimming the 2026 budget by €43.8 billion as part of their plan to get the budget deficit down to 4.6 percent of gross domestic product next year.
The prime minister said to get to that figure, the government will next year reduce its civil servant headcount by 3,000; cut another 1,000 to 1,500 jobs in government agencies or state-run institutions; cut healthcare expenditures by €5 billion; and to freeze the salaries of some government employees and the amount of welfare payments, including pensions, that are typically adjusted annually for inflation.
This developing story will be updated.