Sébastien Lecornu imposes stability in state spending for the 2027 budget

Sébastien Lecornu asked his ministers, in the name of “exemplarity”, that State expenditure, excluding defense, in the budget for 2027 remain “strictly at the same level” as in 2026. “Faced with the degraded situation” on the economic level at the global level, “I decided to reopen the ceiling letters (which set the maximum amount of expenditure, Editor’s note) in order to release additional effort on expenditure on the State,” wrote the Prime Minister in a letter to his ministers dated Monday, consulted by AFP and cited by Les Échos.

This exercise should make it possible to “aim that state spending, excluding defense, will be strictly at the same level in the 2027 budget as in the 2026 budget,” he specified. Sébastien Lecornu asked his ministers, in the name of “exemplarity” and in a context of degraded public finances, not to increase state spending, excluding defense, in the budget for 2027. These expenses must remain “strictly at the same level” as those of 2026, wrote the head of government in a letter to his ministers dated Monday, consulted by AFP and revealed by Les Echos.

“Faced with the degraded situation” on the economic level at the global level, “I decided to reopen the ceiling letters (which set the maximum amount of expenditure, editor’s note) in order to release additional effort on State expenditure”, with the objective “that State expenditure, excluding defense, will be strictly at the same level in the 2027 budget as in the 2026 budget”, he specified. This additional effort, according to Mr. Lecornu, aims to “preserve room for maneuver for the parliamentary debate” on the 2027 draft budget, in a context of degraded public finances.

He explains this decision by “a new shock” on energy prices which “weighs on our businesses, on the purchasing power” of the French, which has emerged as a major theme of the presidential election, while calls for mobilization against the high cost of living raise fears of a resurgence of movements such as “yellow vests”. “This situation (...) cannot remain without consequences for the preparation of the budget for 2027,” he argues, also assuming aid of 1.3 billion euros for farmers affected by drought and the principle of “fiscal stability”.

He also points to the increase in interest rates on the French debt, which has a “very concrete consequence: each additional euro devoted to the debt burden is a euro which no longer finances the public policies of your ministries”. But “reassuring the financial markets obviously does not mean governing for them. This means protecting the French against the cost of distrust and preserving our freedom of decision, including that of our successors,” he argues.

Sébastien Lecornu suggests in particular to his ministers, who will consult the political parties, to “explain the choices that have been made, listen to the counter-proposals, precisely measure the consequences and seek, wherever possible, ways of reaching an agreement”. Faced with the different scenarios for passing the budget (vote, 49.3, special law or ordinances), “we must not allow ourselves to be locked into any scenario written in advance: neither that of rejection, nor that of confrontation, nor that of powerlessness,” he believes. “Our only compass must be to reach a compromise” to “have a budget within a reasonable time frame”.