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Paris (AFP) – France is likely to exceed its budget deficit target for 2023, a finance ministry official said on Monday.
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President Emmanuel Macron’s government aims to bring the budget deficit to 4.9% of gross domestic product (GDP) last year, but this is “probably difficult to achieve,” an official told AFP on condition of anonymity. told.
“The truth is that our earnings were much less dynamic than we expected at the end of the year,” the person said.
The national INSEE statistical office will report France’s national accounts in March.
The warning came a day after Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire lowered the government’s economic growth forecast for this year to 1.0% from the previous 1.4% target.
He also told broadcaster TF1 that 10 billion euros ($10.8 billion) in spending cuts are expected this year, citing lower-than-expected tax revenues.
Le Maire told reporters on Monday that the cuts would help the government meet this year’s budget deficit target of 4.4% of gross domestic product (GDP).
But he said the government would still have the option to revise the budget in the summer “depending on economic and geopolitical conditions”.
The government said it still hopes to keep the budget deficit below 3% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2027.
The fiscal deficit level requirement, agreed among European Union member states as part of the Stability and Growth Pact, was first aimed at enabling countries to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, and secondly, the economic impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It has been suspended since 2020 due to the impact of the pandemic.
EU member states are currently discussing reforms to their deficit and debt rules that would allow for greater flexibility.
© 2024 AFP
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