A trillion here and a trillion there and pretty soon you’re talking about real money. Of course, France now owes even more than that. To be precise, a colossal €3,228,000,000,000. Up by one trillion euros since the election in 2017 of President Emmanuel Macron, the ‘Mozart of finance’.
A ‘sword of Damocles’, admitted the new French prime minister Michel Barnier on Tuesday in his speech to the National Assembly setting out the programme of his minority government. A government in name only, it can be said, since it depends on its survival on the consent of Marine Le Pen.
As the left opposition hissed and Le Pen beamed like one of her Bengal cats, a breed noted for its aggression, Barnier delivered his message in calm and measured tones, fooling nobody. If anyone has any money, it’s time to start looking at the Swiss property websites.
This year, the public deficit will exceed 6 per cent of GDP, Barnier admitted, promising to reduce it to 5 per cent in 2025 and 3 per cent in 2029.
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