4 of GDP in 2008 instead of the expected 3

The revision is almost unnoticed, yesterday, which says a lot about the State of public finances. In presenting the new budget group for 2009 including the impact of the recession and the cost of the tax cuts, Bercy has indicated that the public deficit would probably reach 3.4 of GDP in 2008, instead of the expected 3.2, because including degradation of local accounts. The limit of the European stability pact thus was widely exceeded last year, and do not know when the return below the 3 occur: the deficit will go to 5.6 of GDP in 2009, with a negative balance of the State of 103.8 billion euros, and hold target of 2.9 for 2012 would require both a robust recovery (2.5 growth from 2011) and a very strict control of public expenditure)(which evolved from less than 1 per year in value). Even in this scenario, the debt still peak more than 78 of the GDP at the end of the legislature...

At the end of the Council of Ministers, the Budget Minister, Eric Woerth, has defended the strategy of the Government relying on the concept of "crisis deficit", which would represent more than 60 billion euros by aggregating fiscal losses 2008-2009 (30 billion) and expenditures, not perennial, (30 billion) stimulus plan. Conversely, the structural deficit of the State would be "that" of just over $ 40 billion. "60 of the deficit comes from the crisis and so 60 of the deficit is eliminated when the crisis will be over", he said, pointing to the address of the left, that these 60 billion is "the illustration, the encryption of the recovery." Given a last hearing in the National Assembly and the Senate, Eric Woerth and Minister of economy, Christine Lagarde, did not satisfy all parliamentarians.

A presentation "clever".

"I still think that the Government is evidence of an excess of optimism on growth and employment, that forecasts will be still revised this year", commented Didier Migaud (PS), Chairman of the Finance Committee of the National Assembly, for which this collective, the fourth since the fall, will almost certainly not the last. The dissociation of the structural deficit and the deficit of crisis is a "clever" presentation, which allows it to relativise the drift of public accounts, but this does not detract from his criticisms of the content of the stimulus package: "the recovery of consumption and the use of the French plan dimension remain very below what is being done in other countries." I also dispute its effectiveness and fairness.

"The expenditure presented by the Government are exhaustive", praised his side, Gilles Carrez, UMP commission rapporteur, nevertheless regretting not there see included measures for the overseas, they still did the object of a formal agreement. Member of Parliament, which will introduce amendments to better target tax (read below), also issued a few doubts about the cost of the debt that the Government intends to stabilize EUR 43 billion this year through the flow of inflation and interest rates: "This is a point that we are going to dig", he warned. The risk of skidding of the debt burden is in fact feared in the medium term.