The budgetary battle began Tuesday in the Assembly with the examination of the draft state budget in committee, with first setbacks for the Macronists and debates which promise to be bitter on housing, purchasing power or the ecological transition.
The examination started badly for the presidential camp, in a relative majority situation in the Assembly, with the rejection of the preliminary article which includes in the law in particular the forecast of public deficit.
I am quite surprised that people who have divergent opinions on the trajectories are voting together, quipped the general rapporteur Jean-Ren Cazeneuve (Renaissance) addressing the oppositions.
Against the opinion of the rapporteur, the deputies also adopted an amendment from the MoDem, an ally of the presidential camp, to rework the inflation indexation of the income tax scale, with a calculation according to them that is more favorable to the classes. average and penalizing very high incomes.
Discussions in the Finance Committee are due to end on Friday, but it is unlikely that MPs will follow through. In any case, this is the initial text which will be studied from next Tuesday in the Chamber.
Nearly 2,400 amendments – more than double than in 2023 – are on the program for the examination of this first part of the finance bill (PLF), which relates to state revenue.
The trend towards inflation in the number of amendments is real, underlined the president of the commission Eric Coquerel (LFI), who proposed to the deputies to reduce their speaking time to try to meet the deadlines, except on the major debates which are required.
The passage through committee remains an opportunity for all groups to position themselves on this highly political text, traditionally rejected by all oppositions.
The Renaissance group defended a protective and responsible budget at a press conference on Tuesday, between the fight against inflation and a need to restore public finances, according to its president Sylvain Maillard. But the right criticizes a lack of savings and the left criticizes insufficient investments on certain aspects: Much more is needed on the ecological transition and housing, Eric Coquerel has already criticized.
When we are accused of both laxity and austerity, it is because somewhere we must be at the right level, retorted Renaissance MP Mathieu Lefvre.
Housing will be one of the big subjects of this budget, assures a parliamentary source who follows the work closely. All groups, including in the presidential camp, have underlined in recent weeks the urgency of responding to this crisis, but the proposals diverge even in the majority.
The debates should also largely focus on the price of energy, inflation and the ecological transition.