No increase in pensions and CAF: the government is considering a blank year plan

The website impots.gouv.fr recalls, in the present tense, a fact dating back almost 6 years to the implementation of the reform desired by Emmanuel Macron: "To avoid a double levy in 2019 (the withholding tax on your 2019 income and the tax on your 2018 income), the tax on your current income from 2018 has been erased (a so-called 'blank year' mechanism in the form of the 'tax credit for the modernization of recovery')." This did not prevent several million French people from paying it... But the blank year that the government (at least Bercy) would like to introduce for 2026, after having already thought about it in the two previous years, is of a completely different caliber.

Blank year: the 40 billion target will not even be reached

Having failed for various reasons, such as parliamentary deadlock, to achieve the desired 40 billion savings in public spending by 2025 , he is now reportedly banking everything on 2026. The measures envisaged, however, would only allow for a maximum of 28 billion to be recovered, according to Le Figaro . The daily newspaper specifies that "in the jargon of public finance," "blank year" means " total or partial freezing of inflation-indexed spending." But in politics, it can mean many other things.

Blank year: retirees targeted once again

They have been in the sights of the Ministry of the Economy since the start of the 2024 school year. While we had almost succeeded in getting them to admit that their pensions would not be revalued in 2025 , this had failed and precipitated the fall of the Barnier government, censured by the NFP and the RN. For Bercy, the standard of living of retirees remains too high compared to that of active workers and a 12-month cut should not traumatize them. In 2026, this revaluation based on inflation (estimated at 2% next year) is for the moment threatened. For the minister, Eric Lombard , this would be "the least bad solution." However, he declared Thursday morning on France 2 that tax increases are excluded. But the absence of revaluation mixed with inflation, it looks a bit like it.

Blank year: a disguised tax increase?

And even a lot. Thus, a freeze on the income tax scale and the CSG could be introduced . This would have the direct consequence of increasing by one bracket all those who would have been lucky enough to see their salary increase in 2025. To put it simply, they would actually pay more taxes which would generate more tax revenue for the State. This is simply called a disguised increase. Except for the middle classes according to the clever calculations of Bercy. Very clever!

This is Eric Lombard's wish. In addition to freezing funding for ministries (while the budgets for the Armed Forces, Research, and Justice were supposed to be increased), local authorities, and civil servant salaries and bonuses, there is talk, as Amélie De Montchalin, the Minister of Public Accounts, and Gérard Larcher, the President of the Senate, had mentioned , of freezing family allowances, social security benefits, the activity bonus, the RSA, and housing benefits. If the blank year is complete, even if many economists doubt this option, France may well find itself on the streets.