France lacks capacity to absorb crises: Senate president

France “does not have the means to absorb crises and to cope,” the Senate president said on Wednesday, linking current economic pressure to the impact of the war in the Middle East.

“Over-indebted and overtaxed,” France is no longer in a position to absorb shocks, Gerard Larcher told broadcaster BFM TV.

“The truth must be told to the French,” he said, adding that current difficulties reflect decisions taken over the past decade.

“We are paying for the lack of decisions over the past ten years. We are paying for the ‘whatever it takes,’” he said, referring to pandemic-era spending policies.

Larcher further added that public spending was not reduced and that state reforms were not carried out.

This assessment also applied to the two presidential terms of Emmanuel Macron, he said, calling for a national debate next year on “how to put the country back on track.”

His comments came after the government announced €4 billion (approximately $4.3 billion) to €6 billion ($6.4 billion) in spending cuts in response to the economic impact of the Middle East conflict.

Larcher said he expected further measures, pointing to a meeting of the public finance alert committee in June.

“There will be another meeting in June of the public finances alert committee, and we will see, depending on international developments, whether there will be a need for additional freezes or reinforced spending cuts,” he noted.

The Senate president added that lawmakers were closely monitoring the situation and had already warned the government during debates on the 2026 budget.