Gabriel Attal, who had recently resigned as Prime Minister, sent out unusual “plafond letters” to all his ministers on August 20th. In these letters, he announced a general freeze on state spending in 2025 at 492 billion euros, and detailed how each ministry would be affected. The defense, culture, and sports budgets were said to be relatively privileged, at the expense of the labor and employment budget. This move raised questions about whether it was a draft budget, a necessary technical measure, a political signal, or simply a draft destined for the trash.
Under the Fifth Republic, this is the first time that a resigning Prime Minister has set a budget framework for other resigning ministers, while indicating that this framework may be adjusted or questioned in the coming weeks. This is an unprecedented situation caused by Emmanuel Macron’s decision to dissolve the National Assembly on June 9th, and then not immediately appointing a Prime Minister after the second round of early legislative elections on July 7th. It is described as a “reversible budget”, meaning it can be modified by the next government and parliament.
The plafond letters, which have no legal value, traditionally mark a key stage in the preparation of the state budget and are usually signed by the Prime Minister between mid-July and early August after negotiations between the Ministry of Finance and other ministries. This year, discussions on budget allocations were disrupted by the dissolution of the Assembly. Despite the convention that a resigning government should only oversee current affairs, the Ministry of Finance decided to continue budget preparations to avoid halting the budget process. Gabriel Attal, with a one-month delay, chose to send out revised plafond letters to ensure continuity of state operations.
Sending out these letters, which specify each ministry’s future payment credits by mission and program, as well as its staffing cap, was seen as a necessary step to allow the incoming government to finalize the budget on time. The project must be submitted to the High Council of Public Finances in mid-September for review, approved by the Council of Ministers in late September, and presented to Parliament on October 1st. Matignon emphasized that by sending out the letters, the Prime Minister fulfilled his duty to avoid a budgetary deadlock. The urgency of the situation was underscored by the need to adhere to the budget timeline.
Despite the unprecedented nature of this move, Attal’s decision to send out the plafond letters was seen as a strategic step to ensure the continuity of government operations and to prevent a budget crisis. The budget freeze and allocations outlined in the letters reflect a temporary framework that can be adjusted by the incoming government and Parliament. This complex situation arose from the unusual political circumstances that followed Macron’s dissolution of the Assembly and the delay in appointing a new Prime Minister. The next government will have the task of finalizing the budget and addressing the implications of the spending freeze on different ministries.
