France will pursue euro 14 billion ($18.2 billion) in spending cuts next year as it attempts to reduce the public deficit to 3 per cent of economic output by 2015, Le Monde reported.
France's socialist government aims to tame the deficit by trimming ministerial budgets, cutting state aid to companies and reducing local government funding.
With the economy back in a shallow recession, jobless claims at an all-time high and his approval ratings around 30 per cent, President Francois Hollande has been reluctant to accelerate the cuts. Annual growth in overall wage costs for French public employees will be cut to 0.15 per cent from three per cent, chiefly through pay restraint, the French daily said on its website. Ministries will also be expected to trim two per cent from operating budgets through public purchasing reform, according to the report, which cited government proposals in a document submitted to a parliamentary committee.
Funding for services such as the Centre national de la recherche scientifique institute and Meteo France weather forecaster will be cut four per cent, it said. French lawmakers are scheduled to hold a preliminary debate on the government's 2014 budget on July 2. It is said the deficit could overshoot its 3.7 per cent target for 2013. It recommended spending cuts of 13 billion euros next year and 15 billion in 2015 to meet the 3 percent goal.
France's socialist government aims to tame the deficit by trimming ministerial budgets, cutting state aid to companies and reducing local government funding.
With the economy back in a shallow recession, jobless claims at an all-time high and his approval ratings around 30 per cent, President Francois Hollande has been reluctant to accelerate the cuts. Annual growth in overall wage costs for French public employees will be cut to 0.15 per cent from three per cent, chiefly through pay restraint, the French daily said on its website. Ministries will also be expected to trim two per cent from operating budgets through public purchasing reform, according to the report, which cited government proposals in a document submitted to a parliamentary committee.
Funding for services such as the Centre national de la recherche scientifique institute and Meteo France weather forecaster will be cut four per cent, it said. French lawmakers are scheduled to hold a preliminary debate on the government's 2014 budget on July 2. It is said the deficit could overshoot its 3.7 per cent target for 2013. It recommended spending cuts of 13 billion euros next year and 15 billion in 2015 to meet the 3 percent goal.