Employers' organizations gathered in the "Business Council" at Bercy

The aim, Economy Minister Eric Lombard explained to the press before the meeting, is "to establish a dialogue on the situation in our country, at a time when we are in difficult negotiations with the Americans, and when we are also preparing a 2026 budget in which we wish to involve them."

In addition to the ministerial teams, the heads of Medef, CPME, U2P, the three representative employers' organizations, and Afep (French Association of Private Enterprises), the lobby group for large companies, were gathered around the table on Monday. These meetings are expected to take place approximately every month and a half, according to the Ministry of Finance.

Mr. Lombard indicated that he wanted to "co-construct with businesses" and hoped to apply this method with local authorities and, at the end of the week, with employee representatives, "to help move the country forward in this particular phase of our history."

"The government's approach is one of co-construction," added Minister for SMEs Véronique Louwagie. She noted that there are also "issues that are highly anticipated by businesses" regarding competitiveness, simplification, transfer or takeover, and artificial intelligence.

Asked about the 2026 budget, Mr. Lombard clarified that the €40 billion to be found, as he announced on Sunday, concerned the State, Social Security, and local authorities.

"Forty billion euros is the deviation from the natural trajectory of the budget as it results from the usual way of working.

"Another way of saying it is that we are going to reduce public spending slightly, very slightly, compared to its 2025 level," he said.

From "dialogue with all stakeholders," he hopes to see "a consensus" emerge. For him, bringing the public deficit back below 3% of GDP—by 2029, according to government forecasts—is "a national cause."