“The increase in medical deductibles is part of the discussions. There may be a gesture on this point,” indicates Roland Lescure, Minister of the Economy

As the race for the vote on a final budget for the year 2026 accelerates, France 2 welcomes Roland Lescure, Minister of the Economy, Finance and Industrial, Energy and Digital Sovereignty, in the “4 Truths” on Monday, December 1. According to the tenant of Bercy, 49.3, which the Socialist Party says it is ready to use, is not yet relevant and a compromise can still be found on certain points.

This text corresponds to the transcription of part of the interview above. Click on the video to watch the interview in full.

Cyril Adriaens-German: The Social Security financing bill returns to the Assembly tomorrow. The Prime Minister and you will receive the socialists and communists at Matignon later. Are you ready to seize the pole stretched out on Sunday by the boss of the PS deputies, who ultimately no longer excludes adoption of the budget by 49.3?

Roland Lescure: No, I think the subject is not there today.

The method is a subject…

Yes, and precisely the new method that the Prime Minister chose is not to use 49.3.

So today you say: “We will not use 49.3” ?

Not using 49.3 means not writing the end of the film so that it plays. Everyone must take responsibility and effectively negotiate in order to find a compromise. If you say “49.3”, basically you are taking responsibility away from everyone. So no 49.3, we are all responsible. We all take steps towards each other which ultimately allow us to compromise. This is being done in every country in the world and I am firmly convinced today, because there is a majority of deputies who want it, that it is possible. So not only is it essential, we need a Social Security budget, otherwise there are very significant deficits which will widen again next year, we need a Social Security budget, and we are capable of achieving it.

And if there is no compromise, it is because there is a vote on the 9th, what do we do?

We are causing the Social Security account to go adrift. It’s very simple, the Social Security deficit is 23 billion euros, that’s a lot of money. We were at 10 billion two years ago and if we didn’t have a Social Security budget, I’m not putting myself in that hypothesis, we would probably be beyond 30 billion. So the reason why I’m saying that today is that we need this budget, and the good news is that we have a majority of deputies who are ready today to vote for it on the condition of finding compromises. And so I don’t put myself in a hypothesis in which we don’t have any, I put myself in a hypothesis in which we will find these compromises.

By a special law possibly? There are some who say, we have to give ourselves time, let’s not put December 9th and 15th in a rut.

In fact, we have constitutional deadlines which are defined, which push Parliament, effectively, to decide on time so that on January 1st we have a budget, in fact two budgets: the State budget and the Social Security budget. So the 9th is the Social Security budget, we have around ten days left to negotiate it. In fact, the debates have already been very widely opened by the examination in the Assembly, then in the Senate, as you said, we return to the Assembly. So, I am firmly convinced that on all the subjects which are open, deductions, savings in expenses, we will be able to converge. We are in the home stretch. I had talked about hurdle racing. We are in one of the last hedges. These are often the hardest to skip. We’re a little exhausted. Instead, you have to accelerate completely to win the race.

Are you ready to let go on certain subjects? For example, the president of the Social Affairs Commission who tells us that we need clarification from the government on the elements on which we can discuss and have a compromise, the one you are asking for. For example, could you ease up on the upward expansion of medical deductibles?

It’s part of the parameters and I definitely don’t want to, I’m going to disappoint you, but negotiate on a plateau. Negotiations take place with those who vote.

And at the same time, they need to know what could happen.

Of course, I can tell you that the parameters today are: deductions, do we pay a little more for our Social Security? Expenses, are we spending a little less? Among the expenses is the so-called indexation of social benefits to inflation. The good news is that we have won the fight against inflation. Inflation is below 1% in France. But still, if you froze, it’s zero. If you index, it’s 0.9% or 1% or thereabouts. And then the franchises. So all of that is part of the discussions that will take place. There may be action on this point.

You’re the one who sets the tempo a little.

We put a budget on the table. So that’s a starting point. And the government is there to orchestrate, if I may say so, the negotiations between the different groups, to be able to propose, in any case, technical solutions to move forward on this or that subject.

But when we talk about the increase in the CSG on wealth income which goes to 2, rather than 2.7 billion, does that suit you?

That’s one of the things we need to discuss.

Does that suit you?

I don’t want to give the impression that we are absent from these negotiations. We play a very important role. But I was going to say that what suits me is secondary. The question is: am I capable of making positions which today are in disagreement converge towards positions of agreement.

Click on the video to watch the interview in full.