Taxes, Iran, budget, Bétharram… What to remember from François Bayrou’s interview on LCI
A guest on LCI this Thursday, the Prime Minister spoke in turn about the young Frenchman arrested in Iran, the public deficit, the National Rally (RN) and the differences within the government.
By LAA 90-minute face-to-face discussion spanning a wide range of topics. This Thursday evening on LCI, François Bayrou was Darius Rochebin's guest. Five days before the presentation of the public finance recovery plan and the main guidelines for the 2026 budget , he naturally addressed the issue, without revealing his measures.
The Prime Minister was thus able to express himself on a wide range of political, economic and diplomatic subjects.
The Prime Minister was first questioned about the fate of Lennart Monterlos , a young Frenchman whose arrest in Iran was confirmed by the head of Iranian diplomacy this Thursday in Le Monde. "The French authorities are in contact with the Iranian authorities" as well as "with his family," assured François Bayrou, specifying that he did not want to say more "so as not to jeopardize the outcome of this affair."
"The duty of countries is not to persecute innocent people who are sometimes unaware of the risks they face," the Prime Minister added, reiterating the instructions from the Quai d'Orsay not to travel to Iran, a country accused by French diplomacy of pursuing "a deliberate" policy of " taking Westerners hostage ."
Questioned by Darius Rochebin, François Bayrou then discussed the country's public finances, as the government must find €40 billion in budget cuts to reduce the deficit . "We will set a course," promised the Prime Minister, assuring that the government intends to meet the target of a deficit of 4.6% of GDP by 2026.
"For 50 years, France has been spending more than its resources. We are forced to borrow money we don't have, which creates enormous difficulties," acknowledges Bayrou, for whom "we are in this situation because we don't produce enough." "We will have to make efforts," he explains, saying he hopes the debt will stop increasing by 2029 .
In this regard, François Bayrou is due to unveil the broad outlines of his public finance recovery plan next Tuesday at 4 p.m. In the meantime, he has repeatedly stated that he refuses to comment on the matter.
Between now and Tuesday, political meetings are expected to take place at Matignon, Bercy, and the Élysée Palace to refine the chosen directions. According to a source at the Ministry of Economy, Emmanuel Macron will share his vision "for certain decisions." The budget issue could determine the survival of François Bayrou's government, which is already more than weakened .
Asked about possible tax increases , François Bayrou seemed to dodge the question. "No, not primarily," he simply replied, acknowledging that "there may be, here and there, specific efforts," but not a general tax increase.
The Prime Minister prefers to put forward the idea of reducing public spending , while according to him, "certain social spending must be controlled."
The Prime Minister once again defended his desire to change the voting system for legislative elections. "I have supported the idea of proportional representation for a long time," he declared. He added, "I will continue to defend this idea," suggesting a referendum on the issue.
Is this a reaction to the state of the National Assembly? It seems so, according to him: "The least we can say is that it's worrying, saddening, and sometimes heartbreaking (...) the ability to debate, sometimes we manage it, but for the most part, it's a battlefield," he asserted.
On a completely different subject, the financing of political parties, the Prime Minister also said he was "determined" to "propose the bank of democracy" before the autumn.
Considering it "shocking" that political financing is "decided by private banks", he assures that this new bank, backed by the Caisse des Dépôts (Deposit Fund), would allow everyone to finance a campaign provided there is a financial guarantee, without the bank "having to ask itself whether it likes you or not".
Darius Rochebin then questioned his guest about the National Rally, a far-right party that has seen strong electoral growth in recent years. François Bayrou indicated that he was "fighting their ideas" but would not "sideline" the party's deputies, which "are part of democracy."
"I don't refuse to shake their hands because they are representatives of the people, I fight them, I disagree, but I don't look at them like outcasts," he said.
Regarding Wednesday's searches of the National Rally's headquarters for suspected financial irregularities , Bayrou said he understood Jordan Bardella's position - who denounced the "vague incrimination" - but did not approve of it. "We feel like we're being persecuted, I've experienced that," he explained.
The Prime Minister claims to be the "guarantor" of "government unity," questioned about the disagreements displayed by several ministers in recent weeks, such as on the Algerian issue or renewable energies .
"There may be different opinions, but there is only one line of government," assures François Bayrou.
François Bayrou was questioned for more than five hours on May 14 by the commission, vehemently rejecting accusations of lying or intervention in the 1990s with the courts in this affair. He subsequently published all the documents produced during his hearing on a dedicated website .
"I stand with the victims of Bétharram. I have proven that each of the accusations was unfounded. It was an outrage," he assured LCI. In early July, the parliamentary committee concluded that the Prime Minister had not taken sufficient action against the violence that occurred within the Catholic institution.
Le Parisien
