Debt has always been a concern of François Bayrou.
In 2007 as in 2012, the centrist made it one of the main themes of his presidential campaign.
"The first duty of the State is to manage well
,
"
he explained then.
The speech of the High Commissioner for Planning which he has become now takes into account the current crisis.
On Wednesday, before the Economic, Social and Environmental Council (Cese), François Bayrou took part in the debate which is currently agitating politicians and economists on the advisability of "confining" the Covid debt.
So he said he was in favor of putting it aside, that its repayment only begins around 2030 - the time for the country
“to recover”
- and then spreads out until around 2060.
"The war debt"
In the note he wrote, the high commissioner justifies this position by the fact that it
"would be very dangerous, because demobilizer"
, to confuse
"expenses which are part of the usual functioning of the State"
and those
" specifically linked to the epidemic ”
.
In the latter, it would include support for companies, employees, the assumption of all health expenses and investment in the hospital.
The envelope of what he calls
"the war debt" would
exceed 200 billion.
That there is no question of canceling, he said.
"If we find the thread of growth, there will be no problem"
to reimburse it, while the charge will represent a little less than 20 billion euros per year, or between 0.5% and 0.7 % of GDP that France should have in 2031, according to the calculations of the High Commissioner's report.
Read also:
Is it possible to cancel Covid debt without harming creditors?
François Bayrou also pleads for a plan to
“reconquer the productive apparatus”, which
he compares to the post-war Marshall Plan.
It would mainly focus on strategic sectors of the future, for an amount of between 200 billion and 250 billion euros.
