Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on June 10, 2025
1 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleFrance risks IMF and EU oversight without budget reforms, says Budget Minister Amelie de Montchalin. A 40-billion-euro budget cut is planned.
PARIS (Reuters) -France must put its finances into order or face the risk of being placed under the supervision of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) or of European institutions, Budget Minister Amelie de Montchalin said on Tuesday.
"Today, we need to seize the budgetary weapon again, get our house in order, and put it back in order, because if we don't, others will decide for us," Montchalin told RTL radio.
"There is a risk of supervision by international institutions, European institutions, our creditors," she added when asked if France faced a risk of supervision by the IMF.
French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou plans to unveil proposals in July to get public finances under control, hoping to push through a 40-billion-euro ($45.62 billion) budget squeeze in 2026.
France has a long history of flouting EU overspending rules and is currently running the biggest public sector deficit in the euro zone, at an estimated 5.4% of economic output this year.
($1 = 0.8768 euros)
(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
The French Budget Minister warned that France must put its finances in order to avoid potential supervision by the IMF or European institutions.
French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou plans to implement a budget squeeze of 40 billion euros, approximately $45.62 billion, in 2026.
France is currently running the largest public sector deficit in the euro zone, estimated at 5.4% of its economic output this year.
Montchalin emphasized the need to 'seize the budgetary weapon again' and get France's finances back in order to prevent external decisions on its budget.
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