Paris (AFP)

The public deficit will finally be less than 9% of GDP this year thanks to the better expected economic growth, said Thursday the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire, who also announced an increase of 10.8 billion euros in the public spending next year.

The government has raised its growth forecast for 2021 to 6% (against 5% previously), and the additional tax revenues that will result will be devoted to "contain the public deficit for 2021 to less than 9%, against 9.4% expected in corrective finance law ", declared the minister during the debate on the orientation of public finances in the National Assembly.

"We refuse, with (the Minister of Public Accounts) Olivier Dussopt, to devote all of the additional tax revenues linked to the 6% growth to the increase in public spending", explained Bruno Le Maire.

"There is no jackpot when you exceed 100% of public debt," he insisted.

The government aims to reduce this deficit to 5.3% of GDP next year, thanks to a budget "back to normal", despite the persistence of the health risk, supported Olivier Dussopt for his part.

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The executive, however, plans an increase in controllable state spending (budget of ministries) of 10.8 billion euros next year, an "increase similar to that of 2021", announced Bruno Le Maire.

"Half of these new expenditures are the result of programming laws, therefore of laws of investment in the sovereign activities of the State", the army, the justice, the police, education or research, a- he detailed.

The defense budget and that of school education will both increase by 1.7 billion euros next year, according to the budget document detailing the spending limits of the ministries.

The research and higher education budget will increase by 900 million euros, and that devoted to security missions, will increase by 800 million euros.

That of justice will increase him by 700 million euros.

The other half of this increase in expenditure will be dedicated "to support expenditure linked to the crisis: guarantees on the loan guaranteed by the State for example, emergency accommodation, or the extension of the university ticket to 1 euro ", detailed Bruno Le Maire.

The budget will also have to finance the measures announced by Emmanuel Macron on Monday evening, such as the commitment income for young people or the new investment plan, as well as the continuation of the recovery plan.

© 2021 AFP