In an op-ed in Le Monde, Jérôme Fournel, former chief of staff to Michel Barnier, calls for a major overhaul of budgetary aids and tax niches ahead of the 2026 budget. He criticizes the accumulation of hundreds of costly measures burdening public finances. This reform aims to address a deficit equaling 6% of GDP in 2024.
France's fiscal and budgetary debate focuses on taxing high patrimonies and businesses, as well as containing public spending at 57% of GDP in 2024 against 51% in revenues, resulting in a 6-point deficit. Jérôme Fournel highlights a blind spot: the implausible buildup of hundreds of budgetary aids and tax niches affecting individuals and businesses, excluding social benefits.
Historically, France offsets high tax rates with narrow bases through numerous deductions, reductions, abatements, tax credits, and budgetary aids. The chambers of trades and crafts list over 2,300 aid measures for businesses, including loans and guarantees. For individuals, several hundred devices exist, such as the energy voucher, tax credit for hiring a domestic employee, or unlikely aids for repairing household appliances or buying an electric bike.
Even restricting to exceptional tax niches, estimates range from 380 to 500 devices. Their cost is substantial: nearly 100 billion euros for business-related ones, excluding social contribution reliefs, per convergent reports from the General Inspectorate of Finances, the Court of Accounts, and the High Commissioner for Planning. For individuals, tens of billions are hard to assess exhaustively.
Fournel argues this piling up carries high financial and political costs. Instead of piecemeal dismantling, he advocates a major refoundation of the system to restore equity and budgetary efficiency.