PARIS (Reuters) – French Finance Minister Eric Lombard said on Monday that the 2025 budget bill his new government was working on targeting 50 billion euros ($51.7 billion)in cost savings – a lower figure compared to the one from the previous government.
Lombard added the budget situation was “serious” and the government now targeted a 2025 deficit in a range of 5% to 5.5% of gross domestic product (GDP), which would be a drop from a deficit of “probably” around 6.1% in 2024.
Lombard, previously head of Caisse des Depots, the investment arm of the French government, is tasked with steering through parliament a budget after the previous government lost a no-confidence vote in early December amid a backlash against its belt-tightening proposals.
France’s failure to pass a 2025 budget has spooked investors and ratings agencies, but the savings needed to get France’s public finances in line have proven too much for lawmakers in the deeply divided parliament. The previous government headed by Michel Barnier eyed 60 billion euros in savings.
($1 = 0.9678 euros)