While the draft budget for 2022 is just starting to be examined in Parliament, the government must already modify its major balances, after having revised upwards its growth forecast for this year (6.25%) and announced a certain number of new expenses with the “France 2030” plan, the skills plan and purchasing power measures in the face of soaring energy prices.
The new draft budget for 2022 provides for 10.2 billion euros in additional spending, in particular to support the purchasing power of households.
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In total, it is 10.2 billion euros of expenditure which will be added to the increase of 11 billion in the budgets of the ministries already planned for 2022. The "inflation allowance", announced Thursday evening by Prime Minister Jean Castex will represent an expenditure of 2.3 billion euros next year, after 1.5 billion euros spent in December 2021. The only measures dedicated to offset the rise in energy prices will cost 6.2 billion euros euros to public finances, detailed the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire, presenting these changes to the press. The government has also revised upwards to 5.9 billion euros, against 5 billion previously, the cost of capping the future increase in the electricity tariff. In addition, the State will compensate up to 1,2 billion euros gas companies penalized by the blocking of gas tariffs until the end of 2022. Some elements (increase in dividends paid by EDF to the State and decrease in the cost of financing renewable energies) will lighten the bill of 3.2 billion.
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To these purchasing power measures, are added as planned 2.8 billion euros of credits dedicated to the France 2030 investment plan in the sectors of the future, announced in early October by Emmanuel Macron, and 1.2 billion euros. to finance the skills plan announced at the end of September by Jean Castex.
Thanks to the economic recovery, part of this expenditure will be financed by an increase in tax revenues expected in 2022 (+5.2 billion), and in 2021 (+4.7 billion).
Better revenues which also allow the government to lower its deficit forecast for 2021 to 8.1% (against 8.4%), and to contain that for 2022 to 5% (against 4.8% included in the draft budget).
The public debt will be "
brought under 114%
", said Bruno Le Maire.
These changes will be submitted to the High Council of Public Finances (HCFP) which criticized the first version of the budget as “
incomplete
”.
