France aims to end spending ‘addiction’

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said France must break the addiction to public spending that has left its economy trailing peers as he outlined plans to rein in the budget and cut taxes.

In his maiden speech at the National Assembly as premier, Mr Philippe promised €20bn of tax cuts by the end of President Emmanuel Macron’s term in 2022. Spending will drop by the equivalent of 3 percentage points of GDP in that time and taxation will fall by 1 point, he said.

“We must face the truth about the financial situation of the country,” Mr Philippe said.