“Every euro counts,” warned Bruno Le Maire on Thursday at the opening in the Senate of the debates on the purchasing power law, wishing to limit the extra cost of Parliament’s contributions to the first package of measures presented to 700 million euros in total to senators.
The Senate began this Thursday the examination in first reading of the bill “on emergency measures for the protection of purchasing power”, then it will address the amending finance bill for 2022 from Monday. first package of measures, urged the minister of Economy to the senators to “take care that each euro is well used”, underlining that “the restoration of French public finances is not negotiable”.
The modifications introduced in the text in the National Assembly have meant “350 million euros of additional spending”, he said, wishing for a “comparable” amount for the additional spending that will be voted on in the Senate. “Which would lead us to a purchasing power package that would go from 20,000 to 20,000 million and 700 million euros of additional spending”, a figure “that allows us to maintain our 5% public deficit in 2022”.
44,000 million euros for the rectified budget
The modified budget project opens 44,000 million euros in credits, including 9.7 to finance the renationalization of 100% of EDF. The minister also raised “the main political lines that are at the center of this purchasing power bill: the energy issue, which is fundamental, the promotion of work, which is absolutely fundamental, the protection of local communities against inflation”.
It provides for a series of measures, including the tripling of up to 6,000 euros in the tax-free premiums that companies can pay their employees (extension until December 31, 2023 of the “Macron bonus”); a 4% increase in retirement pensions and various allowances (family, social minimums) with retroactive effect from July 1, 2022; the deconjugation of the disabled adult allowance (AAH); as well as various measures to deal with the risks of energy shortages.
Regarding the changes made to the text in committee, Labor Minister Olivier Dussopt indicated that the government will propose to return to “a lasting system for all companies” of the “value sharing premium”. Senators capped it at the end of December 2023, except for companies with fewer than 50 employees. Another “point of divergence” raised by Olivier Dussopt, the reduction of employer contributions for overtime, proposed by the senators.
Source: BFM TV
