Budget: where to find the money? Growth: how is the French economy holding up?

Every Saturday, two economists debate topics that mark economic and social news.

Friday October 31, deputies rejected the emblematic Zucman tax, including its lighter formula. As a pledge given to the left to avoid censorship, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu renounced the freeze on retirement pensions and social minimums. All this will cost money and we must complete the 2026 budget as quickly as possible. Where to find the money? Is the political equation possible on an economic level?

In this context, French economic growth surprised by accelerating to 0.5% in the third quarter compared to the previous three months. A better result than expected thanks to dynamic exports, despite political uncertainty in France and trade tensions with the United States.

How can we explain this resilience, what are its foundations? How to transform the test? What about the impact of a possible fiscal shock? Can France increase the minimum wage, like Germany?

To discuss it, Emmanuel Cugny and Benjamin Fontaine receive Xavier TimbeauDirector General of the OFCE, and Patrice Geoffronmember of the Circle of Economists, professor at Paris-Dauphine University.