Quotes
The real sword of Damocles hanging over us is our colossal financial debt,
Barnier, a 73-year-old former minister and EU commissioner, told lawmakers as he set out his government's plans, ignoring heckles from the hard-left France Unbowed It is not clear who will be the most obstructive towards implementing his programme: coalition partners or the opposition,
Eurointelligence analysts wrote in a note The French would not forgive us for standing still,
[The ... The French] want us to look at the truth in the face, and they want a prime minister who will say the truth. I will say the truth about the state of our state finances,
Paying off debt is the second-largest line item in government spending behind education,
As a result, no longer are we meeting our integration objectives in a satisfactory manner,
the conservative told the National Assembly The government will not perform miracles … we will overcome each obstacle step by step,
We cannot spend more; we must spend better,
Take care of the republic, it is fragile. Take care of Europe, it is necessary. Take care of France and the French who demand that we overcome our differences and act in the superior interests of the country,
Our aim is to reduce the deficit to five percent [of GDP] in 2025 … on the right path to reach the three-percent ceiling in 2029,
two years later than previously planned ... Barnier said