Editorial. Budget cuts: François Bayrou will try to make the pill easier to swallow

It's back to school for François Bayrou. Allergic to vacations, he spent the summer in an office, reviewing subtractions. Fewer credits, fewer public holidays, fewer subsidies, less of everything to save more than 40 billion from the state budget. It's certain he'll have trouble getting this austerity message across to—almost—everyone. Especially since the first smoke signals sent out in the middle of summer to prepare public opinion didn't have the desired effect. On the contrary, the fire is simmering, and September 10 promises a fireworks display of discontent.

Faced with mounting discontent, the Prime Minister is relying on his consummate diplomatic skills to extinguish the first flames. Theatrically, he overplays the budgetary cataclysm by posing as a reasonable man, demanding the necessary sacrifices. A bit like a surgeon who decides to perform an amputation: the patient will certainly be missing a leg, but he will be alive. The question now is whether this "least worst" theory will resonate with society. It's a safe bet that it won't. Public holidays polarize irritation and reawaken the still-painful wounds of retirement at 64. What's more, citizens are tired of the political schizophrenia that sees those who have increased the deficits suddenly find themselves prescribing social mutilations in the name of the general interest. In short, François Bayrou will have to be devilishly good at making the savings pill easier for French people who no longer trust politics in general and him in particular. Failing to convince, the head of government will at least have to work to defuse the social bomb. That's all he has left if he truly wants to do something useful before the end of his term at Matignon.