Letter from Bruno Le Maire warning Emmanuel Macron about deficit revealed, LFI condemns “state negligence”

The “C dans l’air” program on France 5 revealed the letter sent by the then Minister of Economy to the President of the Republic, dated April 6, 2024, and alerted him to slippage in the public accounts.

“Confidential”. The mention appears at the top left of the letter, dated April 6, 2024. The program “C dans l’air”, broadcast on France 5, revealed, on Sunday November 9, as part of the documentary entitled “Debt, France’s scandal?”, a letter sent by Bruno Le Maire, then Minister of Economy and Finance, to Emmanuel Macron, to alert him to the slippage of public finances.

Highlighting falling tax revenues, boss Bercy called for austerity measures to limit the deficit to 4.9% by 2024 and proposed amendments to the finance law. His recommendations were not followed by the head of state at that time. The public deficit reached 5.8% of GDP that year.

Speaking two months before the European elections that marked the beginning of the dissolution, Bruno Le Maire emphasized that without the financial law being amended, the government would open “dispute with all opposition” and could be accused‘insincerity’. “We risk being accused of hiding our copy”he wrote, warning Emmanuel Macron about it “any avoidance strategy is doomed to failure”.

Bruno Le Maire, Minister of Economy until 2024, was then accused of being responsible for France’s budget problems, even being nicknamed “the man with a trillion dollars” debt.

Current Economy Minister Roland Lescure, interviewed on franceinfo on Monday, said that until then he had not been aware of the warning letter from his predecessor. “I feel as responsible as he and everyone else for the situation we are in”he said.

“There is state negligence”convicted, on the same day, Eric Coquerel, president of the Finance Committee of the National Assembly, was interviewed on BFMTV. “If you think about it, this means that the budget presented was not honest”he added. The rebels considered that the government had accepted “warning in all directions”including Bruno Le Maire, about the seriousness of the public account situation, but that “Nothing was followed up.”