NEW POLITICAL CRISIS

Chronicle (Levin), 21 December 1949, Page 5

NEW POLITICAL CRISIS

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—Reuter.

French Budget fflay Become Confidence Issue

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Received Wednesday, 10 a.m. PARIS, Dec. 20. The powerful Finance Committee of the French National Assembly toriight flatly rejected Cabimet's latest effort to balance the Budget by offering to cut it by 50,000,000,000 francs (£50,000,000). By .law the Budget must be adopted by December 31 — and it must be a balanced Budget if France is not to risk losing 700,000,000 (£250,000,000) of Marshal aid next year. It appears now that the problem will have to be debated on the floor of the. Assembly. This would be tantamount to making the matter a confidence issue. Fears were expressed in the Assembly lobbies tonight for the continued survival of the Bidault Cabinet if the Premier has to stake its future on a vote of confidence on the Budget issue. The Budget, formally introduced yesterday, provided for tax increase of £190 million. The Finance Committee, under Radical leadership, has so far refused to approve more than £62 million in new taxes. , The Government's Budget assumes a deficit of £25 million. The Minister of Finance, M. Maurice Petscl>e, said the gap would be filled by future economies which he hoped to inaugurate under a special two-year pian. He described the committee's proposals to save francs as "false economy." He said its suggestion to cut the railway subsidies and slash the equipment programme would mean a huge increase in fares and the loss of their jobs for many railway workers. \