François Bayrou has posted his first video on his YouTube channel on Wednesday, aimed at explaining his government’s policies to the public, in particular the unpopular budget cuts.
Bayrou’s videos will be posted on a YouTube channel called FB Direct (the first two letters are the French prime minister’s initials).
In the first video, he stated that he would not be taking a summer holiday because the coming days were “extremely important” for France, and called for understanding of the government’s need to cut budget spending.
“When you are forced to take out loans — not to buy a house, an apartment, furniture or a car, but simply to pay for everyday expenses — when you are forced to take out loans and cannot repay them without going to the bank every month for additional loans, which are becoming increasingly expensive — this is called excessive debt,” Bayrou said.
The French prime minister hopes that citizens will at least be willing to listen to him while watching the video on YouTube during their holidays.
“The purpose of this direct communication is for you to form your own opinion. I am convinced that there is no other way,” he said.
Bayrou previously presented a plan to cut government spending, calling for a reduction in the budget deficit and public debt, which has already reached €3.3 trillion. This is about 114% of the country’s GDP. Through various measures, the government expects to save a total of €43.8 billion in 2026 to limit the budget deficit to 4.6% of GDP. In 2024, this figure was 5.8%.
As Bayrou noted, the initial plan was to cut spending by €40 billion, but the target had to be raised due to the desire to increase defence spending. He also said that in order to save €7.1 billion in an attempt to curb the growth of public debt, the French authorities intend to abandon plans to increase pensions and other social benefits in 2026.
