The French Budget.
It is not possible to say that France is facing the budget, for everyone except a few leaders of the Radical party is resolutely facing in the opposite direction. M. Queuille has armed himself with all the weapons he can for what promises to be a most unpleasant fight.
The discussion of the main provisions of the budget must be com- pleted by the end of the year. The vote of confidence will be put if necessary. The proposals to increase tax rates by so per cent. and to raise a free loan, with an amnesty on unpaid taxes as a bait to possible subscribers, are in themselves so moderate as to disarm criticism from all but the most intransigent opponents of taxation. But it is still too early to forecast that M. Queuille will win his fight. There is this in his favour—that much as the Socialists and M.R.P. would like to bring the Government down; they will hardly be anxious to strike the first blow, if only because they do not want the thankless task of presenting the budget themselves. But Com- munists and Gaullists, standing in no danger of having to assume financial responsibility, have few political inhibitions. On such occasions as this they have even been known to vote in the same lobby. As or the taxpayers—or, to be more accurate, those who are liable to pay taxes—money and politicians occupy distinct places in their scale of values, so there is no doubt whatever as to which they would sacrifice first. All in all, M. Queuille will be lucky to survive. The finance committee has already refused to sanction the increase of taxes and the fiscal amnesty. Such utter irrespon- sibility has no defence, and it may be swept aside. The Chamber itself may be forced to vote the necessary measures of financial reform, but there will still remain the back-breaking task of applying those measures. In short, if M. Queuille wins through he will get no thanks, but only the satisfaction of knowing that he has furthered the cause of financial sanity and perhaps saved France from the last and disastrous round of inflation.
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