"A colossal amount": 211 billion euros of public aid to businesses, distributed without control or compensation, in 2023

Interview : On the occasion of the publication this Tuesday of the conclusions of the parliamentary commission of inquiry, its rapporteur, the communist senator Fabien Gay, evokes a series of measures, including a "transparency shock".
Interview by Matthew Aron
Communist Senator Fabien Gay, rapporteur of the parliamentary commission of inquiry into public aid paid to companies, during the hearing of the head of TotalEnergies, at the Palais du Luxembourg, on March 25, 2025. CAPTURE OF PUBLIC SCREEN SENATE
For the first time, a parliamentary commission of inquiry has estimated the amount of state aid paid to businesses: €211 billion in 2023. Its report was made public this Tuesday, July 8, one week before Prime Minister François Bayrou presents the outline of his €40 billion savings plan for 2026. The commission's rapporteur, Fabien Gay, a communist senator for Seine-Saint-Denis, denounces an opaque system that is rarely evaluated, and proposes a series of transparency measures.
How is your report on public aid paid to businesses unique?Fabien Gay What strikes you first is the abysmal lack of reliable data. When we began our hearings with ministers, senior officials, and the Directorate General of Public Finance, it quickly became clear that no administration was able to say precisely how much public money was being paid to businesses. There was neither t…
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