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We thought this could happen only in countries with the greatest difficulties of the European Union. But it is the French state encounters any difficulty in paying its employees in December. The Senate Finance Committee is concerned in a statement that Bercy seeking 930 million euros to pay bills of staff at the end of the year. Eight departments are involved, including Education, Defense and the Budget.

No worries, the state employees are paid. The state will open "emergency" "authorizations of commitment" to the tune of 1.39 billion euros in payment appropriations for 1.14 billion, say the senators said in a statement, "including 930 million euros will be earmarked to cover staff costs. "These expenditures will be offset by cancellations of appropriations in other positions on the Budget and not aggravate the deficit, said the Senate Finance Committee creditreport.

This slippage results, according to senators, "retirements below expectations, but also additional costs associated with categorical measures whose multiplicity leads to doubt the consistency of real efforts to control the wage bill of the state." And elected upper chamber to denounce the repeated "very worrying" that kind of budget deviations, due to an underestimation of the financial needs of the state.

The Budget Department, contacted by The Figaro.fr, was unable to comment on this information immediately. Baroin announced November 17 that the government deficit would be reduced to 149.7 billion euros in 2010, instead of 152 billion initially planned.

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This is a victory for Brussels embarrassing. At a time when the Commission puts States on a diet, the Court of Justice in Luxembourg ruled in favor of this on Wednesday, EU officials defended their right to a 3.7% increase in wages. A revaluation hard to swallow for the Twenty-Seven, who wanted to divide this up by two "to take account of the crisis."

In its ruling, the Court held that the Council (which brings together 27) "had no discretion" to change the remuneration of the 45,000 civil servants in times of crisis. In fact their pay is adjusted automatically each year, and only the Commission can play an exemption clause in cases of "serious and sudden deterioration of the economic and social situation i need a payday loan immediately." This does not match the current situation, according to the EU executive."We can not say it's a sudden crisis," said Michael Mann, a spokesman for the Commission. "It is a crisis that lasts for years. In our view, it does not apply. "

Legally, the decision comes as no surprise, already in 1972 a similar dispute had been resolved to the benefit of officials. But the timing is disastrous, because the decision falls on the day of a historic general strike against austerity in Portugal and the presentation of a drastic austerity plan by Ireland.

A bit embarrassed, explains the Commission that the increases are calculated based on changes in salaries of civil servants in eight countries, and that the fiscal tightening will affect the current European level with a time lag. Recall that the officials pay them as a contribution to crisis.But these explanations go wrong in view of the comfortable level of income (2,300 to 16,000 euros excluding gross compensation), although the contract, less well treated, are becoming more numerous fast cash loan today.

The case could also harden the standoff on the EU budget initiated between the European Parliament and the bloc, which wants a cap on spending increases to 2.9%. The 2011 budget is currently blocked, for the impasse, the Commission must submit a new project in the coming days.

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