the National Assembly rejects the 2021 and 2022 accounts, quack for the macronists

Another hiccup for the macronists: the National Assembly again rejected the 2021 accounts of the State on Monday, then the 2022 accounts, a vote without much impact but which illustrates the difficulties of the presidential camp in the absence of an absolute majority.

With a coalition of oppositions, the deputies rejected the 2021 accounts as last August by 78 votes against 74 at first reading. Then they rejected the 2022 accounts by 78 votes against… 78.

These budget settlement bills must, however, continue their parliamentary shuttle with the Senate.

And a rejection has no major political consequences. But it removed a tool from the High Council of Public Finances or from Parliament to judge budget execution. (The approval of the accounts) It allows to have a common base of reference, explains a parliamentary source.

This approval of past budgets was a simple accounting formality before. But it has turned into a headache in the new configuration of the Assembly, without an absolute majority since last June.

On August 3, the deputies rejected the 2021 settlement bill for the first time, unheard of since 1833.

Recognizing the accounts does not prevent political choices from being challenged, Budget Minister Gabriel Attal tried to argue on Monday, warning against a sterile and Pavlovian opposition

On the left, LFI David Guiraud criticized a hyper-aggressive policy of using money from the working and middle classes for tax giveaways to businesses and the wealthy.

On the right, LR Vronique Louwagie has, on the contrary, demanded to change gear to accelerate the reduction in public spending.

Gabriel Attal highlighted the decline in our public deficit – 6.5% of GDP in 2021 and 4.7% of GDP in 2022, and the continued recovery of our public finances.

But the situation of our accounts remains worrying. We absolutely must meet our public finance objectives and accelerate Francess debt reduction, he pleaded.

The maintenance of the AA rating of the French debt by the S&P agency on Friday evening is a positive signal but I know that we are on a crest line, he insisted.

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