Budget crisis and political turmoil: France under EU's close watch

euronews (in English)

European institutions in Brussels are paying attention not only to the financial discussions but also to the political challenges that are unfolding in France.

Transcript

00:00The European Union has its eyes on the French National Assembly. Prime Minister Michel Barnier's

00:10coalition government is likely to be in its final hours and the issue is the budget. Barnier

00:17is proposing a major effort to reduce the public deficit, estimated at 6.1% this year,

00:23down to 5% by 2025.

00:53Michel Barnier is under national and European pressure to bring France back into line with

01:02the Stability and Growth Pact. He is therefore proposing a 60 billion euro effort, comprising

01:0940 billion euro in spending cuts and 20 billion in additional revenue. However, it is not

01:16so much the budgetary uncertainties that are worrying the markets, but the political impasse.

01:23If the Barnier government falls, we don't know if Mr. Macron is going to keep Barnier

01:30for a while, if he is going to put in another prime minister, if he is going to resign.

01:37There are quite a few people who are calling for his resignation in France in 2025. That

01:42means a presidential election, a legislative re-election, probably in the summer. So that

01:49means we are in for a whole semester of political speculation, campaigning, etc. where France

01:58will be out of the game.

02:02This political instability in France will weigh heavily in European debates. The voice

02:07of Paris risks being weakened at a time when the Union's new institutional teams want to

02:12make rapid progress on the geopolitical, industrial and climate challenges facing the 27 member

02:18states.

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