“Our job is to make things easier for businesses”: Antoine Armand, new Minister of the Economy, enters Bercy

“Every minute spent at Bercy must be dedicated to the French,” he said. The new minister also promised to lead “the fight for industrial, technological, digital sovereignty, while political and economic mega-powers are putting it in jeopardy” as well as “the fight for more robust public finances without which we will always depend on others.”

Bruno Le Maire “gave him a walking stick that will be used to cross the passes, but also a weapon of defense to face the many dangers that you will encounter on your way.” “Clearly, value does not wait for the number of years,” declared Bruno Le Maire in front of his successor, aged 33.

“Strong choices to make”

For his part, the new Budget Minister, Laurent Saint-Martin, announced that there would be “strong choices to make” for the recovery of public finances, which he would propose “in the coming days to Parliament”. “We do not structurally restore a country’s public finances without first relaunching its activity, without first regaining its attractiveness and competitiveness. Yes, there will be strong choices to make”, declared the minister during the handover with his predecessor Thomas Cazenave at Bercy.

“Today we are facing a new collective challenge, getting back on the path to sovereignty and independence by controlling our public finances,” continued Mr. Saint-Martin, 39, who reports directly to Prime Minister Michel Barnier. “In the coming days, I will propose strong choices to Parliament with three priorities: financing the government’s priorities, consolidating what works in our country and reducing public spending, while ensuring that it improves its efficiency,” the minister continued.