The French government is planning to raise 54 billion euros in its 2027 budget without raising major taxes, according to recent reports. Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu will present the budget proposal on October 1st to the Council of Ministers, with the National Assembly beginning its review thirteen days later. The government is facing a challenging situation, as the budget deficit is expected to reach 5.4% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), and economic growth is likely to be weaker than previously expected due to global instability. To reduce the deficit to 5% by 2027, the government plans to increase mandatory levies, which are a mix of taxes, social contributions, and fees collected by public authorities. These levies are expected to reach 44.2% of GDP, an increase of 0.3 percentage points from the previous year. This increase is aimed at reducing tax fraud and closing certain loopholes in the tax system. The government has made it clear that it will not raise major taxes like value-added tax (VAT) or income tax, as stated by Prime Minister Lecornu in an interview with the French newspaper Le Figaro and confirmed by Economy Minister Roland Lescure on the radio station France Inter. However, the government will target specific tax loopholes, including those related to domestic services, research tax credits, and the Dutreil pact, which allows substantial tax reductions for family transfers. While these loopholes will remain, other provisions may be adjusted, potentially affecting retirees. The government has assured that no pension will be reduced, and the rate of any increase will be decided by Parliament. Several options are being considered to achieve the budget goals, including reducing or limiting the automatic increases (indexing) of certain pensions, implementing different levels of indexing, and adjusting the 10% tax exemption currently applied to pensions. The current limit for this exemption is 4,439 euros, and a potential reduction is under study. Retirees may also be affected if part of their pensions is deindexed, meaning it would not keep up with inflation. Additionally, the government is considering taxing benefits from sick leave to help fund the national health insurance system. Currently, benefits for long-term illness are fully tax-free, while those for work-related injuries or diseases are exempt from taxes at 50%. The government also plans to reduce exemptions for employer contributions, continuing a freeze on these exemptions that was introduced in the spring. This freeze is expected to continue into 2027, and the government is considering further reductions by expanding the salary base used to calculate exemptions. This could generate savings of 3 to 3.5 billion euros. Additionally, the government intends to renew a special tax on the profits of large companies, which will be reduced to 5 billion euros in 2027 compared to 7.5 billion euros this year.