Budget 2025: pensions, schools, electricity, transport, businesses… everyone will be impacted by the savings

The Minister of Economy Antoine Armand and the Minister of Budget Laurent Saint-Martin presented the 2025 Finance Bill on Thursday. MAXPPP – Vincent Isore

The Minister of Economy Antoine Armand and the Minister of Budget Laurent Saint-Martin presented a bill on Thursday that targets the richest but also the middle classes.

There are the numbers and the words… The latter are sweet to the ear when they describe the government's intentions: tax justice, strengthening public services in the territories, attention paid to schools…

And then there is the reality of the numbers announced on Thursday during the press conference of the Bercy ministers who detailed the broad outlines of the budget that was to be presented on Thursday evening in the Council of Ministers. Numbers that often contradict the words.

“Our country finds itself in an unprecedented situation and at a pivotal moment after a health crisis, then an energy crisis and now an escalation in the Middle East. These shocks have marked us, these shocks mark us", Antoine Armand, the Minister of the Economy, poses in the preamble to justify a painful budget, where 60 billion euros of savings must be found: "It will be difficult, we will have to shake up our practices", he adds before announcing a drastic reduction in spending.

This involves in particular « simplification and (the) modernization &raquo public services.

4,000 fewer teachers

While the government keeps repeating that the progress of the National Rally is fueled by the decline of public services in the territory, only the budgets of La Poste and ANRU (National Agency for Urban Renewal) will be increased, as well as those relating to the restoration of heritage.

National Education, although the preserve of former Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, will be particularly affected with 4,000 fewer teaching positions compared to 2024. On the health side, Bercy wants to reduce aid for medical transport and limit prescriptions for medical imaging.

Only the sovereign ministries that are the army and the Interior will see their staff numbers consolidated. As for the Ministry of Justice, its credits should be reassessed via a government amendment.

400 companies concerned

On the revenue side, there are again words and figures. The Prime Minister has talked a lot about tax justice in recent weeks. Symbolically, a tax on private jets is being considered, but nothing has been decided yet, Bercy acknowledges.

The wealthiest households will be asked to contribute, but this only concerns 0.3% of households in France, i.e. those who earn more than 500,000 euros per year, or 41,000 euros per month, and whose tax is less than 20%.

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Couples who are therefore engaged in tax optimization. They will be asked to contribute, temporarily, up to 20%. In the same way, large companies will temporarily participate in the recovery of public accounts.

This contribution will target companies whose turnover exceeds one billion euros, or around 400 companies in France.

Frozen retirement pensions

But the middle classes will not be spared: an increase in the tax on electricity is planned by the government, as well as a tax on airline tickets, the amount of which remains to be defined. The penalty on CO2 emissions applicable to private cars will be increased and its trigger threshold will be lowered.

Finally, the revaluation of retirement pensions will be frozen for 6 months. In addition, in the PLFSS (Social Security Finance Bill) which was also presented on Thursday, it is indicated that the co-payment on doctors and midwives will be increased.

Towards a 49.3 ?

In addition, the increase in deductibles and flat-rate contributions which came into force during 2024 will continue to increase. It is therefore an economy budget that targets all categories of the population that is about to be debated in the National Assembly.

In addition, if it is adopted by 49.3 as the prospect seems to be emerging, the government will be free to take up the amendments it wishes. The text presented yesterday is therefore only a first draft before the parliamentary moment of truth.

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