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Barnier and Attal were supposed to speak again on Wednesday, but their meeting was delayed, according to Barnier’s office.
Floating the idea of new taxes, however, could be a a political tactic — a way for Barnier “to start flirting with the left” and seeking their support, a former minister from Macron’s camp told POLITICO.
Debt bomb
Barnier faces tight deadlines to finalize a French budget for 2025 and, in parallel, to send to the European Commission a credible debt reduction plan and reform proposals for the coming year to bring down France’s worryingly high debt levels.
According to the finance ministry, French debt could reach 5.6 percent of the country’s GDP this year, far above the three percent required by the EU’s spending rules.
France is already under a so-called excessive deficit procedure for breaching those rules last year and could face fines if it fails to significantly reduce its deficit.
The outgoing government promised that it would bring the deficit below three percent of the GDP by 2027 to comply with the EU spending rules. Former Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, who left politics last week, argued that France could still keep keep that promises if it manages to cut spending and to introduce new taxes. He floated taxing share buybacks and electricity production as options.