Budget 2027: Roland Lescure confirms a savings effort of around 30 billion euros

No pension for retirees to complete this 2027 budget. A solution will have to be found and “everyone will have to contribute to the efforts, in justice”, declared Saturday to the newspaper Le Parisien Roland Lescure, Minister of the Economy, ensuring that he joins the “ambition” of the Minister of Public Accounts, David Amiel, of a deficit lower than 5.1%.

Roland Lescure has therefore put on the table an “effort” of “around” 30 billion euros in savings, while Sébastien Lecornu is launching a consultation of political groups on the contribution of retirees. Asked by the newspaper about a savings figure of “at least 30 billion euros” to be made in 2027, the minister confirmed: “It is an effort of this order of magnitude”, essentially “on spending” to “preserve purchasing power” and “not to increase taxes, even if we can clean up tax loopholes here and there”.

Retirees will not be spared

On Friday, David Amiel assured that we would have to choose between indexing pensions to inflation and retaining the 10% tax reduction for retirees. “If we want to reduce the deficit, we must make at least 6 billion euros in savings on basic retirement pensions in 2027,” his cabinet explained on Saturday.

The issue being particularly sensitive, the Prime Minister entrusted three ministers with the task of consulting the political groups in Parliament on this subject, according to information from Le Figaro, confirmed by government sources. In David Amiel's office, it is confirmed that the latter, the Minister of Labor Jean-Pierre-Farandou and that of Relations with Parliament Laurent Panifous will consult "in the coming days" the representatives of the groups who will accept the invitation. “The discussions will focus on the various measures relating to the participation of retirees in the recovery of public finances […] in a context of necessary reduction of the deficit,” added the cabinet.

“No pension will decrease”

“No pension will decrease”, insisted Roland Lescure, it is different for their tax reduction. “The question can be asked, there are plenty of possible solutions,” believes the minister. “But we don’t want to bludgeon retirees,” he emphasizes.

Regarding the calendar, Bercy is assured that Sébastien Lecornu “will arbitrate this weekend the final elements of the initial finance bill in order to launch its material preparation” and to be able to transmit it to the High Council of Public Finances, “in the coming days”. Next week's consultations should make it possible to "anticipate as best as possible the parliamentary debate", which will begin in October in the National Assembly.

As for the means of having the budget adopted, without a majority in Parliament, Roland Lescure does not close the door to ordinances, saying he prefers "to no longer be a minister with a budget" rather than the opposite situation.