The goal is to return to the “level of wealth before the crisis” by 2022, assured Prime Minister Jean Castex, a goal he considered “ambitious but within our reach.”
Thanks to this plan, the government is counting on a rebound of the gross domestic product (GDP) by 8% next year, following an expected historic contraction of 10% this year.
A third of the plan will go to ecology, a third to solidarity and training measures. The last third will be used to improve the competitiveness of businesses and to encourage the reindustrialization of the country, notably through a reduction of €10 billion in production taxes weighing on companies. The goal, by supporting businesses, is for them to start hiring again after an anticipated 800,000 job losses this year.
The High Council for Public Finances (HCFP), which does not have veto power over the budget, considers the 8% forecast to be “ambitious,” highlighting the “very strong uncertainties” that still loom, due to the resurgence of the epidemic, and the country’s debt.
This year, the public deficit is expected to approach €195 billion, a record. And although the government is counting on a deficit of €152.8 billion for next year, France will nonetheless issue €260 billion in medium- and long-term bonds, according to the French Treasury Agency, an amount net of buybacks and unchanged from 2020.
