Paris (AFP)

The National Assembly must approve on Tuesday the "recipes" part of the draft budget 2020 criticized by the EU for its lack of rigor, before tackling the budget of the Sécu, the situation of hospitals disturbing the majority.

After a week of debate in the hemicycle, completed around 3.30 am in the night from Monday to Tuesday, the first reading vote on this part of the state budget will take place late afternoon. Right afterwards, MEPs will start the other big chunk of the budget marathon: the draft Social Security budget.

The "walkers", helped by their MoDem allies, have a comfortable majority to adopt this mid-term budget, deemed "unfair" and not green enough left, and criticized right for its lack of "efforts" of rigor.

The European Commission has rightly asked France for clarifications by Wednesday, citing "risks of deviation" with European rules in view of the lack of measures to improve the state of its public finances.

The text intends to respond to the crisis of "yellow vests", launched almost a year ago.

While the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire boasts a reduced "tax burden", LR denounces a budget relegating "to the background" the objectives of fiscal consolidation.

In total, the deficit will be 2.2% of GDP, against 2% initially forecast and the public debt will hardly decline.

"Yellow Vests" require, the flagship measure is the five billion euro drop in household income tax, for a total of almost nine billion tax cuts. The companies will see, they, their levies fall by one billion euros.

The left, tirelessly denouncing a "president of the rich," sees this budget as a factor of increasing inequality. She notes that the cuts exclude non-taxable households, "a large part of those who are already struggling to finish the ends of the month".

Another emblematic measure in favor of households, fiercely debated last week: the continuation of the abolition of the housing tax for 80% of tax households from 2020 and 100% in 2023.

The measure is accompanied by gestures towards the communities that will lose this resource. But, despite extra help granted by the government, right and left believe that the municipalities remain aggrieved, in unison departments.

- "Houle" on the Safely -

On the green taxation side, the text provides for the gradual replacement of a tax credit for the energy renovation of buildings with a premium reserved for low-income households.

Added to this is a hardening of the motor penalty to dissuade the purchase of polluting vehicles, an increase in diesel fuel for road hauliers or an increase in the "Chirac tax" on airline tickets to finance transport infrastructure.

"Walkers" have unsuccessfully argued for an increased signal of "greening", with a horizon for the removal of major tax expenditures unfavorable to the environment. Bruno Le Maire committed to "in-depth discussions" with the sectors concerned.

A "timidity" lamented in particular by LFI. For the former LREM Matthieu Orphelin, who in the end will abstain, we are "still too far" from "a real + green budget +".

On the other hand, the government gave pledges to the left and a part of the majority by accepting "Ghosn amendments", to force the directors of French companies to be domiciled in France for tax purposes from 250 million euros of turnover. .

The Assembly has also continued the maze of taxes and tax niches, even if some of the "black tax holes" denounced by the rapporteur Joel Giraud (LREM) will survive.

After the vote, the deputies will immediately follow with the draft budget of the Secu carried by the Minister of Health Agnès Buzyn. It forecasts a deficit of 5.1 billion next year. And, for oppositions that are alarmed that "the hospital burns", again, the account is not there.

In the majority, some push, like the rapporteur Olivier Véran, for a "big commitment" for the hospital. The weekly meeting of the LREM group Tuesday, in the presence of the Minister of Health, was "stormy", according to a participant, with members on the offensive in defense of emergencies.

© 2019 AFP