French budget deficit widens but govt vows no tax hike

PARIS - France's budget deficit widened more than forecast in 2023, official figures showed Tuesday, undermining President Emmanuel Macron's pledge to bring national finances back on track within the next four years.

The public deficit jumped to 5.5 percent of gross domestic product, or 154 billion euros ($167-billion), statistics agency INSEE said.

The government had warned recently that the deficit would exceed its previous estimate of 4.9 percent of GDP, citing the global economic slowdown and the war in Ukraine as key factors.

France has announced 10 billion euros of spending cuts this year to limit the fallout and meet its deficit target for this year of 4.4 percent of GDP.

French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire said Tuesday that he was "totally opposed to any tax increase" to reduce the gap.

"We can perfectly make savings on public spending without digging into the pockets of the French," he told RTL radio.

Like all eurozone members, France is committed to keeping its deficit to below three percent of GDP.

That requirement, agreed between European Union members as part of their Stability and Growth Pact, has been suspended since 2020 first to allow countries to deal with the Covid pandemic, and then with the economic fallout of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.