Budget 2025: Coquerel and de Courson fail once again to obtain documents from Bercy
The standoff between the executive and the Finance Committee of the National Assembly continues. This Wednesday, September 18, Éric Coquerel (LFI), chairman of the Finance Committee, and Charles de Courson (Liot), general rapporteur, once again left the Ministry of Finance empty-handed. A new attempt to obtain the ceiling letters for the 2025 budget project failed, after an initial unsuccessful attempt the day before at Matignon.
Arriving shortly after 12:30 p.m. at the Ministry of Economy, the two deputies left the premises half an hour later without the precious documents. These ceiling letters, which set the spending ceilings for the various ministries, are essential to start working on the budget, according to the parliamentarians. However, they were met with a flat refusal, with the authorities arguing that the orders came from Matignon.
A “constitutional right” flouted?
"We are crossing all the red lines," Eric Coquerel told the press, denouncing an "extremely serious" decision on the part of the government. According to him, this is the first time that Bercy has refused to hand over these budget documents to the Finance Commission, despite the organic law that guarantees access to them.
Despite this refusal, the Budget Director assured them that a separate copy, an interim document, would be sent to them on Thursday morning. This document contains important information on the preparation of the budget, but does not replace the ceiling letters that the deputies wish to consult in due form.
"Angry" parliamentarians
This new episode comes after an initial disappointment on Tuesday, when Coquerel and de Courson left Matignon furious, without having been able to obtain the documents, under the pretext that they were only "preparatory documents". The anger of the two elected officials has not abated, especially in the face of Matignon's perceived interference in Bercy's prerogatives.
Parliamentarians are now demanding written confirmation from Prime Minister Michel Barnier to ensure that they receive this offprint. According to Eric Coquerel, the situation is "completely unprecedented" and could require the intervention of competent authorities to assess the legality of the government's actions.
The 2025 budget project is already suffering the consequences of the tense political context. The dissolution of the National Assembly and the long search for a new Prime Minister have considerably delayed the budget process, while these ceiling letters are usually available from mid-July. Now, the government has until October 1 to submit the draft finance bill to the National Assembly, but the path looks set to be strewn with pitfalls.
