Bayrou's announcements: retirees can absorb a small disappointment

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The "blank year" will obviously be painful for some, and the question of saving on social benefits arises, but the amounts involved at the individual level remain moderate, recalls our columnist, economist Alexandra Roulet.

Presentation of the 2026 budget by François Bayrou, in Paris, July 15, 2025. (Albert Facelly/Libération)

by Alexandra Roulet, economist

François Bayrou's oral presentation was, admittedly, soporific, but the content of the presentation was quite sensible. It's always easy to criticize, but one must appreciate the difficulty of the exercise. Many are outraged without formulating credible counterproposals that reach the right level of magnitude.

First, why are we looking for savings? The state of our public finances is the result of several distinct phenomena. Demographic changes, and in particular the aging of the population, are leading to a rising trend in spending—on pensions, healthcare, and long-term care—that the related revenues are no longer able to finance.

Then, we have two challenges ahead of us that require an increase in spending: the ecological transition, which requires a lot of investment, particularly to support households in their changes of equipment (switching to electric cars, home renovation work, etc.); and the geopolitical situation, which requires us to increase our military spending.

Finally, we have faced two crises in recent years – first Covid-19, then

François Bayrou Public Debt 2026 Budget