France plans 43 billion euros in savings in the 2027 budget

The French government wants to save 43 billion euros in its budget next year. This emerges from a budget draft for 2027. With this tough austerity course, the government wants to reduce the high budget deficit and regain the confidence of the financial markets.

Specifically, it is proposed to freeze public sector salaries and most pensions. In addition, municipal budgets and healthcare costs are to be cut and tax advantages for companies are to be reduced.

Riots during protests

There is growing dissatisfaction among the population about the austerity plans. Public sector employees went on strike against the wage freeze on Tuesday. The protests by students, which began last week, have also expanded and some have joined the demonstrations by the officials. In many cities there were violent riots during the student protests.

The students are demanding that abuses in French secondary schools be put to an end. These include dilapidated school buildings, a shortage of teachers, a lack of materials and school days that are too long from the students' perspective. There is also general discontent and dissatisfaction with politics. On Wednesday, 625 people were arrested and 83 police and gendarmes were injured. According to the Ministry of Education, 119 students, teachers and supervisory staff have been injured since the protests began.

170 schools and 30 universities blocked

Almost 170 schools were blocked on Thursday morning. They would protest against overcrowded classes and against the government, which did not spend enough on heating, air conditioning and teachers' salaries, explained 16-year-old Maëlle from Caen.

Students also joined the protest on Thursday. According to a student union, around 30 universities across the country were blocked on Thursday, including in Paris and Marseille. The proposed budget also contains new tuition fees that will be charged for certain degrees or preparatory classes. CGT union leader Sophie Binet called this a “provocation” given the current protests.

France heavily indebted

France is currently in worse financial shape than it has been for a long time. The government expects total debt to amount to 121.7 percent of gross domestic product next year. France is currently more indebted than any other EU country.

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu described the austerity measures as necessary to get the budget deficit under control. His two predecessors had collapsed over their austerity plans. Since the early parliamentary elections in 2024, the government no longer has its own majority.