There’s water in the gas at the state’s highest peak. According to the latest information from BFMTV and Figaro, the situation is not improving between Bruno Le Maire and Emmanuel Macron. At issue this time, the public deficit, which would amount to 5.5% of GDP, and Bruno Le Maire’s PLFR project. As a reminder, PLFR holds for “amended finance bill”, “a text of government origin which aims to correct the budget voted for the year”according to Le Figaro. This Monday, April 8, the head of state joined the majority coordination meeting. On this occasion, he would have expressed his refusal “to hear about PLFR”, according to our colleagues: “I don’t see the point. […] We do not have a problem of excessive spending, but a problem of less revenue.” If Emmanuel Macron took the trouble to travel, this would be due to the recent actions of his Minister of the Economy.
Indeed, Bruno Le Maire would not have hidden his desire to launch a PLFR in order, according to BFMTV, to have “room for maneuver beyond the 10 billion savings for 2024”. Note that the minister had also planned to pass this bill through Parliament. A strategy which did not please the President, in particular because the latter is aware that a PLFR would never pass the Assembly and that it would undoubtedly be necessary to resort to 49.3. “In the coming days, everyone will be responsible for their own expenses. It must not be a sausage fair. […] We have been producing results for seven years. So we’re staying the course,” concluded the President, uncompromising.
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Emmanuel Macron: his outburst in the middle of a meeting
Rumors have been circulating for several weeks concerning a disagreement between the Minister of the Economy and the President of the Republic. Bruno Le Maire would, in fact, position himself for the 2027 presidential election, even if it means playing against Emmanuel Macron. The latter, for his part, would now refuse to take calls from his minister. The apotheosis of this situation took place on March 20, as revealed The Parisian. During an official meeting, bringing together Gabriel Attal, Gérald Darmanin, Catherine Vautrin, Christophe Béchu and Thomas Cazenave, the furious Head of State would have directly criticized his Minister of the Economy on his management of public finances . “Bruno, You’ve been here for seven years!” would have blurted out the President, to a surprised Bruno Le Maire.
Article written in collaboration with 6Médias.
Photo credits: Jean-Baptiste Autissier / Bestimage