French PM Lecornu warns of additional budget cuts to offset Middle East war costs

French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu told parliament on May 19 that the €6 billion in documented savings will need to be updated to cover the rising costs of the Middle East war, and called on the French to prepare for a possible resumption of fighting.

Speaking at the National Assembly during a government question session, Lecornu was responding to a question from Horizons parliamentary group leader Laurent Marcangeli. "The six billion euros that we have documented will have to be updated, obviously, in the times to come," Lecornu said. He added: "We must not lie to the French, hybrid wars or direct wars will multiply."

"All scenarios are on the table on the geopolitical front," Lecornu said, asking the French to "prepare" for a possible "resumption of fighting." He described the situation as "a crisis of imported inflation on energy" and said "the armed operations across the entire zone inevitably create expenses, impacts on public finances that were obviously not planned when we voted on the budget."

On April 21, the government announced that €6 billion in spending could be stopped to offset the cost of the conflict, following a meeting on public finances at Bercy. Lecornu had asked ministers to implement €4 billion in "additional spending restraint measures" within ministerial budgets, in a letter addressed to his ministers.

Lecornu is to hold a press conference on Thursday on the economic consequences of the Middle East war, promising to return to the issue "in transparency."