Overview

• Prime Minister François Bayrou described France's record-high national debt as a 'sword of Damocles' and called for immediate measures to reduce it, including setting a 2025 deficit target of 5.4% of GDP.
• Bayrou criticized previous governments and opposition parties for decades of fiscal mismanagement, accusing them of a 'fatal tango' that led to the current financial crisis.
• He announced plans to reopen discussions on the controversial 2023 pension reform, which raised the retirement age, but warned that the existing law would remain if no agreement is reached.
• Addressing global instability, Bayrou condemned U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's reported annexation threats and labeled Elon Musk a symbol of a 'new world disorder' undermining global norms.
• Bayrou proposed reforms to simplify bureaucracy, regulate immigration, and explore proportional representation in elections, while urging Europe to strengthen its political and defense capabilities.