French government to publish annual tally of public aid to businesses

On October 13, the French government disclosed its plan to calculate and publish the total amount of public assistance granted to businesses on an annual basis, beginning with figures for 2024. This initiative was launched after a Senate commission criticized the absence of a cross-sector legal definition for state aid to enterprises. The Ministry of Economy adopted a definition created in consultation with the Haut-commissariat au plan, counting any monetary support provided to a company without a matching contribution.

Based on this framework, officials presented two distinct sums: a narrower figure that includes only aid with no doubt of its nature, and a wider total that also incorporates general reductions in employer social contributions. The broader calculation adds payroll tax cuts, while the narrower one highlights subsidies, tax advantages, and loan guarantees. The upcoming 2027 finance bill will make this yearly publication mandatory, using finalized execution data, which creates a two-year reporting lag.