Bruno Le Maire, whose name once circulated for Matignon, remains a tenant in Bercy. As a reward, a deputy minister for public accounts, Olivier Dussopt, was added to him. Because the record of this former defector of the right is far from dishonorable. On the contrary, he managed successive crises without misstep. Its mission is also far from over. The Minister of the Economy is currently working, including with his European partners, on the recovery plan that the Head of State wants ready for the start of the school year. He also inherits in his title, in addition to Economy and Finance, the Recovery.
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The retention in office of this defector from the right devoted to Emmanuel Macron - who said in recent weeks very well where he is - finally makes sense.
“ After two and a half years, we have solid growth, higher than the euro area average. Companies have created more than half a million jobs and France is today the most attractive country in the euro zone , "he said at the end of 2019, making his own assessment at the head of Bercy. The Pacte law adopted a few months earlier, privileged relationship with its German counterparts, defense of French positions at the Ecofin table, composition of the package of measures to respond to the “ yellow vests ” crisis - including, among other things, tax exemption overtime, lower income taxes and higher activity bonuses ... It does what is expected of it.
On the warpath since March
Since last March, Bruno Le Maire has been on the war footing to implement the emergency plan allowing companies to resist while waiting for the economy to restart. From 45 billion euros initially, the envelope rose to 135 billion euros - to finance in particular the cancellation and deferral of charges, the massive use of short-time working, the solidarity fund for VSEs, the self-employed and microenterprises in difficulty and sectoral aid. Not to mention the more than 300 billion state guarantees for business loans. This has exploded the prospects for deficits and debt ... A file that he will look at all the more closely since he now also oversees the Budget.
For weeks, he has been ensuring a permanent dialogue between Paris and Berlin, in order to convince our German neighbor - initially reluctant - of the imperative of solidarity between the countries of the Union and to speed up the adoption of the plan European revival. For his first outing abroad after confinement, in March, he also chose Germany.
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This change, which concerns him relatively little, will also give Bruno Le Maire the opportunity to continue fighting over a subject close to his heart. The Minister of the Economy has not yet finally succeeded in taxing the tax component of his Productive Pact. For months, he has been fighting to register the reduction in production taxes. It could be for 2021. He will no doubt see to it ...
