French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu and general rapporteur of the Finance Committee, Philippe Juvin, at the Assemblée Nationale on October 31, 2025.
History is full of ironic role reversals. After two years of severe fiscal slippage, France is expected to close out 2025 with a public deficit finally in line with its forecasts, albeit still high. The catch-up was not only the result of actions taken by France’s Finance and Economy Ministry, which froze billions in credits during the fiscal year. France also got an unexpected boost from a country long seen as Europe’s worst offender in terms of public finances, and the same bête noire it once came to the aid of: Greece.
During a reading of the budget bills currently under debate, French MPs discovered the windfall of €1.1 billion, an early repayment Greece made to France earlier in the year. “We can thank our Greek friends for helping us reduce our deficit,” said Jean-François Husson (Les Républicains, LR), the general rapporteur of the budget in the Sénat, with a touch of irony. His counterpart in the Assemblée Nationale, Philippe Juvin (LR), was a bit more pointed: “Do you think we can learn any lessons from the Greek example?” he asked the minister for public accounts, Amélie de Montchalin, during a hearing on November 12.
You have 61.04% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.
