France maintained its 2026 public deficit target at 5.0% of GDP, with Roland Lescure keeping the objective after warnings from fiscal oversight bodies that the planned adjustment depends on measures whose execution and yield remain uncertain.
In an April 17 opinion on the government’s annual progress report, the High Council for Public Finances said the target was unchanged from the budget law and above the initial 4.7% goal. It added that it had not received precise information on the savings measures needed to meet the deficit and net primary expenditure objectives.
The council said the government’s 2026 macroeconomic scenario was consistent under its energy-price assumptions, but identified a major risk if energy prices stay higher for longer. It estimated the Middle East shock would add about 4 billion euros to the 2026 budget before offsetting measures.
France’s audit office said in February that the 2026 budget path relies on a more even split than in 2025 between roughly 12 billion euros in tax increases and about 11 billion euros in primary spending restraint, while debt-servicing costs would rise sharply. It also flagged risks to revenue from lower inflation and corporate responses to a surtax, as well as spending overruns in healthcare and other areas. INSEE reported that France’s 2025 public deficit was 5.1% of GDP, better than the 5.4% target but above 2024’s 5.8% outcome, while public debt rose to 115.6% of GDP at end-2025. The audit office said debt would continue rising in 2026, reaching 118.6% of GDP even if the 5.0% deficit target is met.