The reduction in apprenticeship subsidies decided by Michel Barnier in his 2025 budget is a severe blow to the employability of young people in work-study programs. Yet this fiscal measure, though costly, was working well. By the end of 2023, more than 400,000 students with a bachelor’s degree (Bac +3) were in apprenticeship contracts, four times the number in 2018. We were largely catching up to Germany. Work-study apprenticeships in companies offer career opportunities and practical training for the business world, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and very small businesses (VSBs). These are the structures driving employment growth in our country.

Seventy percent of work-study apprentices are hired with permanent contracts, meaning a job and a salary. Work-study apprenticeships also provide young people from less privileged backgrounds with access to higher education, contributing to greater social diversity. From this perspective, this economic inclusion somewhat replaces the national service that was abolished with a stroke of Jacques Chirac’s pen.

The government has therefore announced savings in the 2025 budget by cutting back on apprenticeships, aiming to reduce costs by €1 billion from this professional integration system. As a result, the €6,000 subsidy for companies with 250 employees or more will be reduced to €4,500, and the tax exemptions for apprentices on their income will be eliminated.

The 2025 budget is merely a patchwork budget. It lacks reformative ambition due to the absence of a majority in the Assembly and a lack of political courage.

The Titanic is sinking, and Macron is looking the other way. The “iceberg of debt” from the “Mozart of Finance” is crashing head-on into our country.

The tax hikes will break growth, hinder the reduction of unemployment, weaken France’s competitiveness, and further push the country toward deindustrialization. What a legacy, Mr. Macron!

In 1958, General de Gaulle did not hesitate to implement a shock fiscal policy. “It will either be a miracle or bankruptcy.” Today, we are closer to being placed under the supervision of the IMF or facing sanctions from Brussels than to experiencing a miracle. The only real disruption brought by Michel Barnier has been in “style and embodiment,” which has made Macron’s youthful arrogance look outdated. That’s the only miracle. As for the rest, bankruptcy still lies ahead.