The French budget deficit will reach 220 billion euros in 2021, 47 billion more than expected

The “whatever the cost” will weigh more heavily than expected on public finances. The State budget deficit will amount to “Around 220 billion euros” in 2021, against the 173.3 billion provided for by the finance law, the Minister of Public Accounts, Olivier Dussopt, told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Saturday, May 29.

This worsening of the budget deficit of nearly 47 billion is “The consequence of the support measures that we continue to take to best support the recovery”, according to the minister.

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No estimate of the public deficit yet

Growth was ultimately not at the rendezvous in the first quarter in France, according to figures released by INSEE on Friday. The gross domestic product (GDP) indeed fell by 0.1%, while an initial assessment had shown growth of 0.4%.

The government is due to present on June 2 an amending finance bill including 15 billion euros of additional emergency measures. They will be used in particular to finance partial activity and targeted aid for companies in difficulty, had detailed Olivier Dussopt and the Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, in an interview with Echoes Thursday.

Olivier Dussopt has not yet given a new estimate for the public deficit, which also includes the deficits of Social Security and communities. The public deficit forecast so far was 9%, which was to increase France’s public debt to 118% of its GDP, an unprecedented level, reached due to the “whatever the cost” principle implemented. has been working since the start of the Covid-19 epidemic to support economic activity and employment.

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The World with AFP