Europe 1 with AFP // Photo credit: BERTRAND GUAY / AFP 12:49 pm, September 27, 2023

The government presented this Wednesday noon the main lines of the 2024 budget. The bill will first go before MPs, before being studied in the coming weeks by senators. The state is expected to borrow nearly 285 billion euros next year, while most of the ministries' budgets will be revised upwards.

The first lines of the 2024 budget were presented on Wednesday. Borrowings, taxes, departmental budgets... The government wants to improve staffing to its departments, while reducing the total amount. If no tax increase should appear during this text, the executive nevertheless wants to tax motorways and airports, to better finance the ecological transition.

A new tax on motorways and major airports is expected to bring in €600 million per year

The government plans to introduce in 2024 a new tax on motorway concessions and major airports that should bring in 600 million euros annually, he announced Wednesday while presenting his draft budget. "The tax on long-distance transport infrastructure will actually be implemented," Economy and Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told reporters before the presentation of the next budget to the Council of Ministers.

"These are polluting transport infrastructures, whether road or air," he added. But "the best financing" for the "extremely high" and "imperative" investments necessary in terms of ecological transition, "is to ensure that those who pollute more contribute more," he insisted. Mr. Le Maire assured that this increase in taxation would not be passed on "on the user" thanks to the maintenance of "the definition of toll rates".

2024 Education budget up €3.9 billion

The 2024 budget of the Ministry of National Education, first of the State, is up by 3.9 billion euros (+6.5%) to 63.6 billion euros, according to Bercy budget documents published Wednesday, a "historic" budget, commented Education Minister Gabriel Attal.

A budget of €1.9 billion is devoted, as agreed, to unconditional salary increases for teachers (the "base" part of the salary increases). And "nearly one billion euros" are "allocated to the financing of additional missions carried out by volunteer teachers as part of the +pact +", i.e. salary increases for those who accept new missions.

8,300 more civil servants, increased appropriations for law enforcement

The state will gain nearly 8,300 civil servants in 2024, said Wednesday Bercy in its budget documents for 2024, while spending on justice, police and army will be up by nearly 5 billion euros. The number of state employees and its operators, in full-time equivalent (FTE) increased by 8,273 in total, including 2,681 for the Ministry of the Interior, and 1,961 for that of Justice.

However, these increases are lower than last year. On the other hand, the workforce of the Ecological Transition increases by 732 jobs in 2024, instead of 45 in 2023. The Army's workforce increases by 580 jobs.

As part of a budget of "rearmament of public services", according to Bercy, the credits of the maintenance of order sector are up overall by 4.8 billion euros: that of Defense increases by 3.3 billion euros, those of the Interior by one billion and those of Justice by 500 million euros.

The French state wants to borrow 285 billion euros on the markets in 2024

The French state plans to raise 285 billion euros of debt on the financial markets in 2024, a record after 270 billion euros in 2023, announced the Treasury France Agency on Wednesday on the sidelines of the presentation of next year's budget.

In 2024, the State must find a total of 299.7 billion euros, an amount down compared to 2023 under the effect of the reduction of the budget deficit.