In Aix, the Mayor prepares minds for a difficult budget

The Economic Meetings of Aix-en-Provence, which took place from Thursday evening to Sunday, are traditionally for politicians the opportunity to sow a few small pebbles for the start of the new school year. Accustomed to the exercise, Bruno Le Maire, the Minister of Economy and Finance, wanted to prepare people's minds for the difficult debates which are to come around the 2024 budget. The text, which will be finalized at the beginning of September, is part of a constrained economic context of rising rates, economic slowdown and relative resilience of inflation.

"On the occasion of the presentation of the draft budget for 2024, I will give the new growth prospects for 2023 and 2024. From there, I will make proposals to the President of the Republic on the rate of tax reduction", explained the minister on LCI. The second tranche of production tax cuts of 4 billion euros, which had been shifted from the 2023 budget to the 2024 budget, seems compromised.

“In the next budget, we are going to reduce spending on housing, health and employment”, recalled Bruno Le Maire again on the sidelines of the meetings. Brown tax loopholes, that is to say in total contradiction with the ecological transition, are also in the sights, and more particularly that on non-road diesel (GNR), which represents a cost close to 1 billion euros for state finances. Bercy plans to remove it in several stages, the first round of screws being set for 2024. Negotiations are underway with farmers and public works companies who are among the main users of GNR. In total, the executive hopes to show savings (compared to the trend in spending) of nearly 15 billion euros.

Beyond public finance issues, Bruno Le Maire made a plea for science "which will allow us to win the climate battle". While Brussels is advancing on the regulation of artificial intelligence, the minister preferred to insist on the need to innovate, affirming that "having a European open AI (named after the Californian company) within five years, with calculators , the necessary scientists and algorithms, was entirely possible”.

Like the other members of the government present or the former Prime Minister Édouard Philippe, Bruno Le Maire, on the other hand, carefully avoided commenting on the rumors of an imminent reshuffle. They would explain the absence of Elisabeth Borne, who was nevertheless to conclude the meetings. In the cafes and hotels around Jourdan Park, where the demonstration is taking place, his absence animated all the conversations.

As every year, in addition to economists, politicians and journalists, half of the CAC 40 and countless communicators met for these two days of reflection and networking.

The theme of hope, chosen by Jean-Hervé Lorenzi, the founder of the Circle of economists, for these meetings, was logically declined around numerous round tables dedicated to energy transition and climate challenges, particularly sensitive in these scorching days. . A consensus, somewhat surprising coming from such an assembly, seemed to emerge to place this hope essentially in regulation or taxation.