Laura Laplaud with AFP 1:25 p.m., March 7, 2024

Affected by financing difficulties, in particular due to the Ukrainian conflict, the Senate voted on Tuesday, within the framework of the military programming law for the years 2024 to 2030, a bill aimed at reducing part of the savings of the Livret A towards the defense industry.

“The military and industrial tool must be able to face any threat to peace and stability. This is not really the case today,” said Les Républicains senator Pascal Allizard, author of this bill, adopted by 244 votes to 34 on Tuesday. 

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Nearly 60% of Livret A and LDSS funds are dedicated to social housing

After several unsuccessful attempts in Parliament, the Senate therefore wishes to direct part of the savings from Livret A (capped at 22,950 euros) towards the defense industry, affected by financing difficulties reinforced by the war in Ukraine.

The text proposes to direct part of the outstanding Booklet A and the Sustainable and Solidarity Development Booklet (LDDS) towards the financing of companies in the French defense industry. 

Today, nearly 60% of Livret A and LDSS funds are dedicated to social housing.

The rest, non-centralized outstandings, mobilized today to finance SMEs (at least 80%), energy transition projects (10%) and the social and solidarity economy (5%) are precisely targeted by the text.

A similar measure had already been adopted in Parliament in recent months, but the Constitutional Council had censored it twice, judging it to be unrelated to the texts to which it had been added.

“An effective solution” or financing “from cannon dealers”?

Why is this text controversial?

The different political parties do not seem to agree on the subject.

The Republican, centrist groups, the Rally of Democrats, Progressives and Independents (RPDI), Les Indépendants as well as the European Democratic and Social Rally (RDSE) voted for, with the argument "the effective short-term solution".

“It is an effective short-term solution to accelerate the transition to a real war economy,” argued Vanina Paoli-Gagin (centre-right group Les Indépendants).

Conversely, communist and environmental groups voted against, even raising their voices.

“You want to finance the gun dealers by taking from the booklet with which the French thought they would finance housing or sustainable development,” worried the ecologist Thomas Dossus.

The Socialist Party abstained.

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A product dedicated to the defense industry?

For the senatorial right, this text must succeed but according to the Minister Delegate in charge of Business, Tourism and Consumption, Olivia Grégoire, Livret A is not "the most appropriate instrument". 

Socialist senator Rachid Temal defended another vision: that of a dedicated product - the "Sovereignty defense savings account" -, synonymous according to him with more "clarity and transparency".

But the Senate rejected it.