Budget. Michel Sapin wants to make security rhyme with austerity

“The security pact outweighs the stability pact.” François Hollande let slip this comment when speaking at the Congress of Versailles after the attacks. Yet his Finance minister does not appear to want to depart from the budgetary rules decreed by Brussels to use the 600 million euros estimated necessary by the government to finance the measures which have been announced. “I will make proposals to your assembly (…) which will, of course, enable our objectives of lowering the deficit and controlling debt to be respected", stated Michel Sapin to the Senate on Thursday. “Political responsibility and the fight against terrorism are not inconsistent with the budgetary responsibility which is mine today,” he insisted, specifying that “the austerity budget will continue to apply and our objectives of reduction of the deficit that we fixed for next year remain the same”. Equally, in order to reassure the right-wing majority in the Upper House, the minister was not short of arguments. “After the so-called Charlie attacks, we arranged for nearly a billion in extra spending which was entirely compensated for by a certain number of savings.” We have not heard the last of austerity.