(April 21): The war in the Middle East will have an estimated impact on the French budget of as much as €6 billion, Finance Minister Roland Lescure said in an interview with RTL radio.
“This crisis is still extremely uncertain in its course, in its economic impact and in its impact on public finances,” he said Tuesday. “At this stage, the potential impact of the crisis is still very large — we are talking about €4 billion to €6 billion.”
Earlier this month, the government lowered its outlook for economic growth this year to 0.9% from the 1% it included in the 2026 budget bill. Inflation is also expected to be faster than previously expected at 1.9% instead of 1.3%.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu sent a letter to his ministers saying that government departments will have to make cuts to offset the impact of the conflict and keep the budget deficit on course for its 5% target for 2026, Le Monde reported.
The government plans to freeze approximately €6 billion in spending, including roughly €4 billion for the central government and €2 billion for social security, the paper said.
“We’re going to put precautionary measures in place,” Lescure told RTL. “We’re freezing spending. We can then unfreeze it if things improve.”
See also: Unemployment rises in Sweden, Finland as uncertainty weighs
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