Sunday 10th of August 2025

prioritizing military spending over social welfare...

French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou is urging the public to back his drastic public spending cuts, warning that the country’s debt is growing by €5,000 ($5,784) every second.

The €43.8 billion ($50.9 billion) deficit-cutting program unveiled last month targets a budget gap that hit 5.8% of GDP last year – nearly double the EU’s 3% limit. Bayrou has sounded the alarm, stressing that the debt load is a “mortal danger,” while insisting tough measures are now unavoidable.

 

French debt ballooning by €5,000 a second – PM
Francois Bayrou is urging the public to accept his sweeping budget cut plan

 

In a YouTube video posted on Tuesday, he sought to convince the public that the planned budget squeeze was essential to prevent a full-blown fiscal crisis.

Our debt stands at €3.4 trillion – a figure so vast it’s hard to imagine,” he stated, warning that interest payments alone could reach €100 billion annually by 2029 if no action is taken.

The proposals include scrapping two public holidays to boost productivity, cutting public sector jobs, and freezing welfare payments and pensions, which are typically indexed to inflation. The plan has sparked backlash, with left-wing parties accusing the government of prioritizing military spending over social welfare. Jean-Luc Melenchon, leader of La France Insoumise, called for Bayrou’s resignation, saying “these injustices cannot be tolerated any longer.”

France’s military budget is set to rise to €64 billion in 2027 – twice its 2017 level. President Emmanuel Macron has pledged an extra €6.5 billion over the next two years, citing growing threats to European security. A recent defense review warned that a “major war”could break out by 2030, listing Moscow among the top threats. The Kremlin has dismissed claims it is planning to attack the West, accusing NATO of using Russia as a pretext for militarization.

Bayrou, who has survived eight no-confidence motions, needs parliamentary backing for his proposals before the budget is presented in October. The right-wing National Rally party has rejected the plan and called for another vote on his government.

A survey by pollster Elabe published on July 31 suggests that only 12% of the French people trust Bayrou – the lowest percentage since he became Prime Minister in December.

https://www.rt.com/news/622535-france-debt-budget-cuts/?ysclid=me2jwfiotg555296677

 

YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT.

 

         Gus Leonisky

         POLITICAL CARTOONIST SINCE 1951.

les sous....

PRESS REVIEW – Wednesday, July 16: French left- and right-wing papers have different evaluations of Prime Minister François Bayrou's proposed new budget: necessary "shock treatment" or a "purge"? Next, British papers explain the unprecedented superinjunction legal order that was used to hide a "catastrophic" data leak that put thousands of Afghans in danger. Also: brutal violence against aid workers and mass rape have been uncovered during Ethiopia's civil war. Finally, papers put the spotlight on child actors.

In France, the newly proposed 2026 budget is dividing right- and left-wing papers. "Bayrou has nothing to lose," says the headline of financial daily Les Echos, pleased to see the prime minister doing what nobody believed he would do. Right-wing daily Le Figaro calls the budget "shock treatment" that is necessary if France wants to avoid a financial catastrophe. Pro-business paper L'Opinion writes that "Bayrou bets on austerity". The paper praises the prime minister's gamble, saying that it helps make the French aware of the gravity of the financial situation.

Left-wing papers have a different opinion. Communist daily L'Humanité calls it "the purge budget", saying that the proposition only spares the richest people and the biggest companies. "Bayrou in debt", reads the headline of left-wing Libération. The paper calls the budget "a bitter prescription", turning all the opposition parties against him. A similar tone is seen in centre-left daily Le Monde which says that the plan, including the proposed elimination of two public holidays, "has been strongly criticised by the left" but also by the far-right National Rally party.

https://www.france24.com/en/tv-shows/press-review/20250716-french-papers-divided-over-pm-bayrou-s-shock-treatment-budget

 

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YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT.

 

         Gus Leonisky

         POLITICAL CARTOONIST SINCE 1951.