French Prime Minister François Bayrou escalated his campaign for fiscal consolidation during an address to the Medef employers’ federation in Paris on Thursday, reiterating a plan to cut €44 billion from public spending. Bayrou argued that successive governments had financed the 'comfort of boomers' with debt that younger generations will be forced to repay, describing the nation’s financial position as 'grave' and urging lawmakers to back his savings programme ahead of a confidence vote on 8 September. Speaking the previous evening at the launch of the Parti des Actifs, a movement centred on inter-generational fairness, Bayrou announced that he will run for the presidency in 2027. He said the new platform will challenge social-welfare arrangements he contends burden future taxpayers and threaten long-term growth. The remarks triggered swift reactions across the political spectrum. CFDT secretary-general Marylise Léon dismissed Bayrou’s July budget proposals as a 'museum of horrors,' while Rassemblement National deputy Laurent Jacobelli defended retirees as citizens who 'earned their money and respected the rules.' MoDem lawmaker Richard Ramos acknowledged that decades of borrowing had helped fund living-standard gains but said the country must now confront its liabilities. Bayrou is seeking to assemble a cross-party majority to avert the collapse of his government, after left-wing and far-right factions signalled they would not support him in next month’s parliamentary vote. He told TF1 television he is open to measure-by-measure negotiations but warned that a failure to reach agreement risks saddling younger French people with an unsustainable debt load.