2026 Budget: "It's a budget of sovereignty," says the Minister for Public Accounts, Amélie de Montchalin.

This text is a transcript of part of the interview above. Click on the video to watch the full interview.

Jean-Baptiste Marteau: Hello, Amélie de Montchalin. When we read about €43.8 billion to save, is that really an austerity budget given the budgetary and economic context? The word has meaning.

Amélie de Montchalin: I believe that it is a budget of sovereignty and it is a budget of freedom for us, the French, faced with a situation where the risk is that we do not choose for ourselves how we take back control of our destiny, how we take back control of our public finances.

It is not about austerity.

I think the Prime Minister demonstrated the risk very well yesterday. The risk is that we will be crushed by our debt. The risk is that we will no longer be able to have the room to maneuver to finance our priorities. Among the priorities of the French people, there is security, there are our armies, there are our gendarmeries. There are also priorities regarding the ecological transition. We see cyclones, floods everywhere. How do we protect ourselves? There is also the future of our children. How do we better train our teachers? There is also, of course, the financing of the social model. The French want to be assured that today and tomorrow, they will be able to receive good care. But what we see is that the model we have today is not sustainable; it puts us in danger, and therefore it is, first and foremost, a budget of sovereignty. How can we choose for ourselves and how can we avoid taking the risk that, because we don't dare to say things, because we don't dare to say things with authenticity and sincerity to the French people, we let this deficit slip away, we let this debt slip away and one day, it will be others who decide for ourselves.

In detail, 3,000 government job cuts in 2026, with one in three civil servants not being replaced starting in 2027. Which professions will be specifically affected? Will it affect teaching, healthcare workers?

So, there are several things. This isn't an arbitrary decision. It's the result of eight years of modernizing public services. I'll give you an example: the tax services, for which I am the minister. Obviously, when we do withholding tax at source, it allows us to reorganize. Just last week, you see, I relocated public officials all over France so that they would be closer to the French people.

So, we can cut positions when we reform certain administrations.

Exactly, and we're going to do it in all administrations. All administrations, of course, are reorganizing, modernizing, and getting closer to the French people. You have reorganizations in all ministries. Then you have ministries that are recruiting. More soldiers, more police officers, more prison guards, but also more teachers because you know we're going to train them earlier. This is a major reform so that the children of our country have access to better-trained teachers.

You confirm to us that there will be no salary increase in 2026, even for these teachers, for these caregivers, for these police officers?

This is what we call a year of stability . So, we don't have any new salary increases. We had very strong increases in 2024. On the other hand, salaries will still increase a little based on seniority because it is important that the loyalty of our civil service continues. I was Minister of the Civil Service. What I want to say today to all French people and all public employees is that public services work better, that they are well funded, that public employees have modern tools to support the French people. This is what we are planning.

We're also talking about tax loopholes, both social and non-social, that will be eliminated. Can we name a few tax loopholes this morning that will actually be eliminated? For example, will home care workers be affected or not?

At The issue with tax loopholes is that they were created, sometimes a long time ago, to support a sector, support an activity, and assist businesses. The question we must constantly ask ourselves is that there are 474 of them today in our country, representing more than 85 billion euros. Is it still useful? Is it still appropriate?

Have you done this assessment already?

Parliamentarians, the Court of Auditors, and ourselves will work in great detail to ensure the right actions are taken. I have always said, for example, that when it comes to personal services, what works and therefore does not need to be reformed is childcare, support for the elderly and dependent, and support for people with disabilities. We will not change on this issue. However, it is useful that we can work precisely with parliamentarians. This is public money; it must be used properly.

The 10% pension tax reduction, which will become a flat rate with a ceiling of €2,000, is a taboo that is beginning to fall. Will retirees, who were previously relatively immune, also be required to contribute?

We are in a national effort. There is no category that is either a scapegoat or, conversely, protected from what the entire nation must do for itself. I launched this debate a few weeks ago to see how we could also have a fair distribution of the effort. What we are proposing is that the wealthiest retirees effectively show solidarity with middle-class and lower-income retirees. So the tax reduction, which was 10% up to €4,400, becomes a tax reduction of €2,000 per person. When you are a couple, that means €4,000 compared to €4,400. You see, this is a reform of justice and simplicity, and it will benefit middle-class and lower-income retirees.

What does a tax on the highest incomes mean? It's a new tax bracket for those who are very well-off. How will it work?

This isn't a new tax bracket. That's not what we're trying to do. We're first trying to ensure that arrangements, sometimes involving holding companies, sometimes complex arrangements, don't avoid taxes, don't circumvent taxes. Michel Barnier's government had proposed a measure: a contribution on high incomes. The Prime Minister wants to maintain it; this is a decision on his part.

It is renewed, the same as last year.

He also announced that we will continue to work on all the over-optimization, particularly of holding companies, because we want to ensure that the French pay the existing tax.