War in the Middle East: the conflict will cost French public finances more than expected, according to David Amiel

While the conflict in the Middle East continues, the Minister of Public Accounts, David Amiel, affirmed on TF1 Friday May 22 that the cost of public finances linked to the war will be greater than 6 billion euros.

The war in the Middle East will have a lasting impact on the state budget. Thursday May 21, Sébastien Lecornu made a pessimistic observation regarding the conflict. “We never thought that this war could be short,” declared the Prime Minister, stressing that “we must begin to give perspectives for certain sectors until the fall.”

Consequence: the cost for public finances could be high. While the deputy and general rapporteur of the budget of the National Assembly mentioned expenditure between 8 and 10 billion euros, the

Minister of Public Accounts, David Amiel, estimated, on TF1, Friday May 22, that they will “certainly be higher than 6 billion” since the conflict tends to last in the Strait of Hormuz. “Fortunately we have a budget to deal with it because if we were in special law, we would not have been able to have any help for the French,” assured the elected official, specifying that “there is no tax surplus linked to the crisis”.

After Sébastien Lecornu’s new measures to deal with the surge in prices linked to the conflict in the Middle East, to the tune of 710 million euros, the total cost of aid amounts to 1.2 billion euros. The Prime Minister has again announced targeted proposals for fishermen, farmers, construction workers and even heavy drivers. “Why do we provide targeted aid? Because they must be financed. Unfunded aid would lead to an explosion in taxes tomorrow,” explained David Amiel.

But then how can we finance these public expenditures? If Sébastien Lecornu assured that no increase in taxation is planned, David Amiel indicated that this financing will go through “a redeployment of budgetary appropriations”, without elaborating. “We are in a war situation in the Strait of Hormuz, everyone must prepare for it,†the minister concluded.