Baptiste Morin // Photo credit: MAEVA DESTOMBES / HANS LUCAS / HANS LUCAS VIA AFP 7:37 p.m., March 26, 2024

A major deficit in public finances. The deficit for 2023 amounts to 5.5% of GDP, significantly above the 4.9% hoped for by the government. Bruno Le Maire, Minister of the Economy, is determined to fall below the 3% mark in 2027. But how to do this? Among the solutions, Bercy is eyeing health spending. 

The reality is worse than the government hoped. The deficit for the year 2023 amounts to 5.5% of GDP, significantly above the 4.9% hoped for. Bruno Le Maire is determined to fall below the 3% mark in 2027 and for this a solution is being considered.

Several avenues are being considered to reduce bills 

Rumor has been circulating recently and the latter claims that the Minister of the Economy was interested in the care of long-term conditions, mainly people suffering from diabetes or cancer. But this Tuesday morning, the minister's entourage was much less decided on this subject.

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On the other hand, he says he wants to target sick leave. The objective is to reduce the bill by 15 billion euros represented by daily allowances. It remains to be seen how the tenant of Bercy intends to go about it. Also on the table, the five billion euros for medical transport. The government wants to promote shared transport to reduce the bill by several hundred million euros by 2027. The operation is not simple, because it means calling into question the economic model of many taxi drivers.

Finally, although the executive may say that it will not increase taxes, reducing public spending should not be painless. Proof of this is the doubling of medical deductibles. They will increase from 0.50 to 1 euro on boxes of medicine from next Monday.