Bruno Le Maire has announced 10 billion euros in savings. Cancellations of credits to ministries will not be enough... As a result, it is the social benefits, and therefore the French social model, that Bercy wants to tackle. France spends 849 billion euros per year, or 32.2% of its GDP, on social benefits in the broad sense, the highest level in Europe. That is 12,550 euros per year per French person. There is much to be seen in terms of Vitale cards, or RSA frauds, as regularly highlighted by the magistrate Charles Prats.

Nonetheless, alarms are going off one after the other. Thus, the deficit of the social security system would reach 11.2 billion euros this year and would rise to more than 17 billion in 2027... We can no longer continue in this way: the national debt, the budget deficit are becoming unsustainable. The government therefore wants to take the bull by the horns by tackling a French taboo: the financing of our costly social model that the financially drained state can no longer afford. Reforms have already been decided. For example, the reduction of unemployment benefits, the implementation of work hours in exchange for the RSA, or the doubling of the co-payment from 0.50 euro to 1 euro on medicine boxes. New avenues are being studied... The file of patients with long-term illnesses (ALD), who represent 66% of reimbursements, is on the table. But how can we deprive people who cannot afford them of vital treatments for these serious diseases? Other avenues being explored include the reimbursement of health transport (5.8 billion euros in 2023) which is also in the crosshairs. And even more disruptive, some health costs could in the future be reimbursed based on income... These avenues are being studied to generate new budget savings... All of this risks causing quite a stir in a country in difficulty. It is our social model that is faltering. A France that has been living beyond its means for decades... the moment of truth is approaching. But how to reduce social funding in a France that is becoming impoverished and whose purchasing power for many is eroded by inflation? In a fractured country where anger is rising, the unpopular government is moving on a minefield and therefore at high political risk.