France must reduce its deficit by €44 billion this year, regardless of who the prime minister is in the coming weeks.
This was one of the key takeaways from French Prime Minister François Bayrou as he took part in a 90-minute televised Q and A session on Sunday evening (August 31).
Journalists from four TV channels asked the prime minister questions, largely focused on the upcoming September 8 vote of confidence in his government. The interview was broadcast live on public service broadcaster FranceInfo.
Below, we review the major points raised - and some of the reaction from the other parties.
September 8 is vote for ‘future of France’
“The issue is not the fate of the prime minister or the fate of François Bayrou or the government, the issue is the fate of France,” said Mr Bayrou about the pivotal vote taking place next Monday.
The vote will follow an outline of the government’s plans for the upcoming months, but if ousted the cabinet will need to immediately resign.
“If the government falls, it means we will change our policy. We will abandon a policy that is, to say the least, vital for the country, without which the country would be in an extreme position, to adopt a more lax one,” said the prime minister.
He will spend the coming week in negotiation with rival parties in an attempt to gain support, but it seems all but certain the government will be toppled.
The far-right Rassemblement National, far-left La France Insoumise, Socialists, Greens, and several other left-wing MPs have all stated they plan to vote against the prime minister.
Combined, they possess well over 300 MPs, significantly above the majority threshold of 289 needed to oust the government.
PM stands firm on necessary savings
A major element of the 2026 budget is the requirement to make some €44 billion in savings, a point Mr Bayrou has continued to stress since outlining the plans in July.
“We haven't presented a balanced budget in France for 50 years.
“The order of magnitude is the step for our country to escape the immediate curse of debt,” the prime minister said, after being criticised about the drastic measures.
“If we were to return to the 3% threshold, beyond which the debt no longer increases, the country's activity means that this debt would become more bearable every day.”
“To get there, we need to take steps. We were at a 6% deficit this year, thanks to our budget, [we would be at] 5.4%, and we have made a commitment to our European partners to reach 4.6%,” the following year, he said.
However, he shifted blame away from French President Emmanuel Macron for debt levels increasing by up to €1 trillion since 2017.
“All opponents, without exception, demanded that we do more,” following Covid-19, Mr Bayrou said.
Savings not flexible… but methods to reach figures are
He reaffirmed that the €44 billion in savings was a red line for his government.
However, the way that money is raised is possible through several means, and aspects of his budget are up for review.
For example, the plan to remove two public holidays from the French calendar is “debatable and amendable,” said Mr Bayrou.
“I think it could have been one [public holiday], without difficulty. I am open to discussion, provided there is one imperative condition for the future of the country: that we consider that we must do something.
“This measure is completely debatable. I had considered others, such as increasing the working week from 35 to 36 hours,... Why did I not do this? First, because I see the extent of the reactions, and second, because 35 hours is the threshold at which overtime begins,” which may penalise some workers, he said.
Mr Bayrou rejected the alternative budget put forward by the Socialist Party as part of its summer programmes (a series of youth camps and informative sessions run by the party over summer), saying the €21 billion it planned to save does not go far enough.
‘I was the only one not on holiday’
The prime minister was criticised for a lack of initiative in the summer months following the outline of budget measures in July.
Commentators questioned why he did not take measures during August to meet leading politicians from rival parties following the widespread outcry against the budget in an attempt to win over MPs, before signalling his vote of confidence gambit at the end of August.
“I was the only one who was not on holiday,” Mr Bayrou said.
He was questioned why he did not respond directly to a letter from member of the far-right Rassemblement National Marine Le Pen.
“I received Marine Le Pen's letter, it must have arrived on July 29… I intend to meet her and I will meet her [in the coming days],” was Mr Bayrou’s response.
The letter contained alternative proposals such as reducing immigration spending, as well as reducing French funds paid to the EU.
He added that he will meet with the leader of all parties and political forces that accepted invitations to discuss the budget this week.
‘Boomers’ must do their part to reduce debt
Mr Bayrou made headlines last week when he said that ‘boomers’ – the generation generally seen as being born between 1946 and 1964 – must help with debt reduction. Mr Bayrou is of this generation being born in 1951.
He clarified his point.
“When we [the boomers] were 20 years old, France had zero debt and magnificent growth. When you are a country that has no debt, you can launch policies, the TGV, airplanes, and it was easy to find work… We did not have this debt burden on our shoulders,” he said.
“I have not said that we should target the boomers. I said something very specific, very simple, and very serious: this generation should be with me to reduce the debt now on the youngest [who are now] destinyless.”
“I want to wake up the elders because I am sure they are in solidarity with what I am saying. [The younger generation] are their children and their grandchildren.”
Immigration not a factor in debt levels
Mr Bayrou responded to claims from the far-right that tackling immigration is the easiest way to deal with France’s debt.
“I do not like the country's situation being presented as a consequence of the presence of immigrants. If there are advantages for foreigners that the French don't enjoy, I would agree to consider them,” he said.
However, he said France needed to evolve its immigration policy surrounding both the “capacity to control entry and exit from the country,” but did not give any concrete examples.
He also claimed he wanted to strengthen the power to enforce OQTF rulings, which demand people leave the country.
‘Zucman’ wealth tax is ‘a threat’
Mr Bayrou also took aim at criticisms of the budget from the left and also support for he ‘Zucman’ tax, a proposed 2% tax on those with assets (including property, luxury items, stocks and shares etc) of over €100 million.
“The Zucman tax is unconstitutional. It is a threat to investment in France; [the richest] will leave,” he said.
"What concerns me is not that there are rich people in France, but that there are poor people.”
Far-left ‘wants chaos’ in France
Taking aim at the far-left La France Insoumise, Mr Bayrou criticised the party’s support for the strikes and protests of the upcoming month, including the potentially hugely disruptive civilian protests on September 10.
“It is the French people who are in danger if we enter a period of disorder and chaos. There are political forces who want chaos, and who believe that a revolution can be built on chaos,” he said.
He also criticised plans by the far-left group to bring forward an impeachment process against president Emmanuel Macron (although such a measure is unlikely to be successful).
Mr Bayrou also pointed towards the short-lived union between left-wing parties that gained the largest number of seats in the Assemblée nationale, and said it was unlikely to succeed again if the fall of the government led to a new round of legislative elections.
“This week, at the La France Insoumise summer universities, what was sung in chorus was 'everyone hates the Socialist Party'. And Olivier Faure (the Socialist Party leader) imagines a government without the far-left inside. In bad times like these, stability is essential. I am fighting for that,” said Mr Bayrou.
What was the reaction?
The political response to the interview was overwhelmingly against the prime minister.
Mr Faure claimed it was “pathetic” and that the prime minister had several chances to meet him during the summer but failed to do so.
The party has said it would be willing to lead a post-Bayrou government if the prime minister falls on September 8, hoping to unite the left and moderates.
Far-left MP Manon Aubry called the interview “absolutely catastrophic.”
Leader of the Greens Marine Tondelier said “François Bayrou's first 20 minutes were extremely laborious and confusing... It was painful to watch.”
“I do not regret that the Ecologists declined François Bayrou's meeting at Matignon, because I have heard enough this evening for the whole week to come,” she added.
For their part, the far-right also criticised the prime minister, with Rassemblement National MP Laurent Jacobelli saying “(Mr Bayrou) knows it is over. In any case, we will vote against [him on Monday],” further confirming the party’s intentions.
Right-wing mayor of Béziers Robert Ménard called the prime minister “radioactive.”
“No sensible party, concerned about its electorate, will make a concession to him,” he added.
