Bayrou’s Ambitious Plan to Fix France’s Finances
François Bayrou—former Prime Minister with a penchant for big-picture solutions—had one clear objective: bring the French economy back on track. His plan? Nothing short of ambitious. Bayrou proposed an overall savings effort of 43.8 billion euros (that’s roughly 47 billion dollars) for 2026, achieved by freezing public spending. Only defense and debt service budgets would be spared. What he called a “white year” was supposed to halt the runaway growth of expenditures without touching social benefits or pensions.
A Taste of Reform: Holidays and Tax Breaks in the Crosshairs
Among Bayrou’s more striking reforms were:
- The elimination of two public holidays
- The removal of a tax deduction, targeting specifically retirees with annual pensions over €20,000 (about $21,500)
On French TV channel BFMTV, Bayrou explained:
“It’s an adjustment to the policy that will see retirees at the lower end of the scale gaining hundreds of euros,” he said. Then he clarified: “It’s an effort, I’m not saying otherwise. But as you can see, for those at the upper limit—meaning a €4,000 monthly pension (approx. $4,300)—it’s a modest effort. And those at the bottom benefit from it.”
Taxing the Ultra-Rich: A Hot Topic in French Living Rooms
For Bayrou, pulling more revenue from the ultra-wealthy was part of the solution to France’s fiscal woes. But his vision didn’t win everyone over. He had to step aside for Sébastien Lecornu. Still, many felt the former PM—who himself has assets exceeding a million euros—wasn’t completely off base. On September 19, on the French talk show “Estelle Midi” on RMC, viewers didn’t hold back on sharing their thoughts about taxing the ultra-rich.
Charles Magnien recounted the words of one participant:
“Taxing the wealthiest? Why not. It’s a nice symbol, it’ll please some people. But it’s not what’s going to jumpstart the economy—in fact, quite the opposite.”
Later, journalist Périco Légasse chimed in. In his eyes, Bayrou was onto something good. As he exclaimed:
“We’ll end up realizing that Bayrou was right all along!”
Unpopular Courage and Political Reality
On the same panel, Légasse pressed his point:
“Eventually, we’ll apply his method—but it’s a bit too courageous for the cowards in charge.”
He added, not mincing words:
“Those men—Mendès France or Bayrou—they got pushed aside because they spoke the harsh truth. But you can’t say that in France today. You have to repeat whatever the mainstream media agree upon.”
Reflecting further on these reforms, Légasse said:
“A white year might be the answer. We’ve been debating this for 15 years now. French taxation needs to be reassessed for greater fairness.”
Right away, host Estelle Denis pointed out to the commentator that this wasn’t part of the current agenda. Which, frankly, didn’t come as a surprise to Légasse:
“Mr. Lecornu has no interest in rethinking French tax policy. He just wants those 67 Socialist MPs to back him so he can stay in office fourteen months instead of nine at Matignon.”
And there you have it: a debate as French as baguette and brie—and perhaps just as enduring.
