PARIS:
The new French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu held an olive branch on the left on Saturday, excluding the plan from his predecessor to reduce two holidays to help reduce the deficit.
His gesture one day came after the Fitch Ratings agency lowered the France’s credit rating – measuring its ability to repay the debts – from “Aa-” to “A +”.
The American agency, one of the best world institutions with regard to the financial solidity of sovereign borrowers, also warned that the French debt mountain would continue to increase until 2027 unless urgent measures are taken.
Political leaders on the far right and on the left have blamed the feet of President Emmanuel Macron, calling for a break from his policy.
Lecornu, less than a week in work, announced in an interview with the regional press that he abandoned one of the most controversial policies of his predecessor François Bayrou.
“I decided to withdraw the removal of the two holidays,” said Lecornu, calling for a renewed dialogue with social partners to find other ways to finance the 2026 budget.
When asked if he would plan to implement Zucman’s so -called Tax on Ultra -Riches – a proposal rejected by the previous administration – he only said he was willing to work on “the question of tax justice”.
The French Federation of Employers MEDEF fired a warning shot on Saturday, insisted that they would mobilize against any increase in corporate companies in the new budget.
‘Pay the price’
The demotion of ratings comes after Bayrou resigned from his post as Prime Minister on Tuesday, after losing a parliamentary vote of confidence the day before an attempt to adopt an austerity budget.
Reacting to the announcement of the notes, Bayrou deplored that France was “a country whose” elites “led him to reject the truth (and) is condemned to pay the price”.
By putting pressure for major cuts to reduce the French deficit and debt, he had calculated that the reduction of two holidays reportedly reported 4.2 billion ($ 4.9 billion) to the budget of 2026.
The figurehead of far -right Marine Le Pen called on Saturday to a “break with macronism”, denouncing the policies of the president as “toxic incompetence”.
The chef’s last left, Jean-Luc Melenchon, who asked for the dismissal of Macron, also called for “the end of macronism and his harmful policies for France and its inhabitants”.
Members of the outgoing government also expressed their concern. The Minister of the Interior, Bruno Retailleau, said that demotion was a punishment “for decades of tax mismanagement” and “chronic instability”.
The demotion will also complicate Lecornu’s task to develop a budget for next year at the head of what will probably be a minority government.
