Since 2017, the public deficit has mainly widened due to a lack of revenue, according to the OFCE.

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Elimination of the housing tax, reduction of the contribution of companies… Since 2017, France has deprived itself of 2.5 points of GDP by reducing compulsory levies.

François Bayrou at Matignon, in Paris, June 26, 2025. (Albert Facelly/Libération)

François Bayrou is due to present the broad budgetary guidelines for 2026 on Tuesday, July 15, and his intentions were still shrouded in secrecy on Thursday evening on LCI. Meanwhile, the Economic Outlook Observatory (OFCE) lifted the veil on Friday, July 11, on what caused the deficit. And according to this organization, which is associated with Sciences Po, the executive bears some responsibility. "Over the recent period, which begins with Emmanuel Macron's first election in 2017, French public accounts have deteriorated more sharply than those of the eurozone as a whole," notes the OFCE, while recalling that the "French balance [i.e., the difference between revenue and expenditure] has systematically deteriorated more" than that of the eurozone since 2002.

With a deficit that has gone from 3.4% of GDP in 2017 to

Public deficit Public debt François Bayrou Budget 2026

Libération

Since 2017, the public deficit has mainly widened due to a lack of revenue, according to the OFCE.

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Since 2017, the public deficit has mainly widened due to a lack of revenue, according to the OFCE.