Tuesday, April 15, 2025
Year : 2, Issue: 33
Anadolu: French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou said Tuesday that France urgently needs to reduce its budget deficit to withstand the “tsunami of destabilization” in the international order, pointing to US President Donald Trump’s policies as a major source of global disruption.
Speaking at a news conference ahead of talks on the 2026 budget, Bayrou said Trump’s decision to turn against traditional allies and trigger a trade war through tariffs had deeply undermined global trust and stability.
“The president of the United States has started a hurricane whose consequences will not end any time soon,” said Bayrou. “As if war weren’t enough, a tsunami of destabilization came to shake up the planet.”
He referred to a February meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office as part of “a reversal of alliances that no one could have imagined.”
Bayrou’s remarks come as the French government prepares to present its 2026 budget proposal under growing fiscal and political pressure. His predecessor, Michel Barnier, was forced out in December after failing to push through a 2025 budget plan to cut spending more aggressively.
France’s budget deficit stood at 5.8% of GDP in 2024, well above the EU’s 3% threshold, BFMTV reported.
Bayrou said the government wants to reduce the deficit to 5.4% this year and gradually bring it to EU-compliant levels by 2029.
He gave no specific details on spending cuts but announced that consultations with lawmakers and stakeholders would conclude earlier than usual, with the budget to be presented by July 14, France’s national day.
Standing at a podium marked with the slogan “The truth allows us to act,” Bayrou warned that France’s financial position made it particularly vulnerable in a time of international uncertainty.
