Roland Lescure wants France's roughly 30 billion euro 2027 budget adjustment to come mainly from spending, including about 6 billion euros from basic pensions. Marine Le Pen says tax increases and unfairness to workers are red lines, while preferring an imperfect enacted budget to reliance on a special law.
Economy Minister Roland Lescure says the 2027 budget needs an adjustment of roughly 30 billion euros and that most of it should come from spending. La Tribune reports that basic pensions could account for about 6 billion euros, while Lescure says no pension payment will fall. That does not mean payments would be unchanged: increasing them by less than inflation could slow expenditure growth. The figures are proposals, not an enacted parliamentary budget.[1]
Bercy cut its 2026 growth forecast from 0.7 per cent to 0.5 per cent, while Insee expects 0.4 per cent. Lescure says reducing the public deficit to 5 per cent of GDP this year is no longer an option. Debt-service costs reaching 65 billion euros in 2026, 4.5 billion euros above the earlier plan, make the starting point harder. La Tribune also reports Insee forecasts of a 0.4 per cent decline in purchasing power and roughly 52,000 net private-sector job losses.[1]
Marine Le Pen, in remarks reported by franceinfo, says she would prefer an imperfect but functioning budget this autumn to reliance on a special law. Her reason is that an existing text could be amended faster after the election than starting from a blank page. She offers no blank cheque: tax increases and social unfairness toward workers are red lines, and she demands spending savings. This stance does not ensure passage; it defines the bargaining space around the text due on September 30.[1], [2]
