Overview

• IMF chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas said financial guardianship could arise if France fails to alter its debt trajectory but stressed it is not an immediate threat.
• He deemed the plan to slash roughly €40 billion from the 2026 budget realistic and necessary to curb the national deficit.
• Gourinchas expressed confidence that France’s leadership and political partners will carry out the proposed savings measures.
• Public Accounts Minister Amélie de Montchalin cautioned that without decisive reforms creditors or the IMF could enforce stricter oversight.
• France retains access to the EU’s European Stability Mechanism, which offers member states financial support under favorable conditions in case market pressures intensify.