France would not introduce any further austerity measures this year but instead focus on spending cuts in 2014 to bring its deficit down to 3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) that year, French President François Hollande said at the weekend.
The EU economic slowdown has forced France to delay its target of cutting the budget deficit to 3 percent of GDP this year and the government has said it did not want to impose too much austerity on an economy near recession.
“It would be wrong to take measures that put another brake on consumption and investment,” Hollande said.
“There is no need to add more austerity in 2013. A lot has already been asked of the taxpayer.” – Reuters