Overview

• François Bayrou announced on July 15 a blueprint targeting €43.8–44 billion in savings for the 2026 budget
• Officials frame the measures as a spending slowdown that would raise public expenditures by €30 billion in 2026 instead of €60 billion
• Local authorities must provide at least €5.3 billion through frozen VAT transfers and extended Dilico schemes, and further levies on local pension contributions and territorial grants drive their total contributions above €10 billion
• The plan also includes the suppression of 3,000 civil service positions through a one-in-three retiree replacement rule and seeks to moderate social benefits by €5.5 billion via freezes and indexation adjustments
• Mayors and opposition figures have rallied ahead of this autumn’s parliamentary review, denouncing the disproportionate strain on fragile public services and calling for fairer burden-sharing