France's PM aims to lower deficit to 4.6% of GDP by next year
The centrist premier said the government aimed to bring the deficit down from 5.8 percent last year to below 4.6 percent next year and to under three percent by 2029.
To achieve this, measures would include a freeze on expenses, except for debt servicing and the defence sector.
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Bayrou also suggested
making people work on Easter Monday and on May 8
th, a day that commemorates Victory in Europe at the end of World War II, though adding he was open to other options.
However Bayrou's position remains fragile and his government could be brought down if enough MPs vote in favour of a motion of no confidence once the parliamentary budget debates begin in the autumn.
President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday said defence spending should rise by €3.5 billion in 2026, and then by a further three billion euros in 2027. France has a defence budget of €50.5 billion for 2025.
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