Tax & Spend

France Must Find €15 Billion Annually to Meet EU Demands

  • Brussels tally shows extra revenue or savings needed
  • Paris faces government gridlock in aftermath of snap election
The National Assembly building in Paris.Photographer: Nathan Laine/Bloomberg
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France’s next government will need to find more than €15 billion ($16.2 billion) in extra revenue or savings a year to meet European Union demands, according to people with knowledge of the assessment.

With current Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire vowing to leave the public finances on a steady course when he leaves office, the tally provides a glimpse of the challenge faced by President Emmanuel Macron in getting a coalition government together whose likely constituent parties all want higher spending.