France to slow deficit cuts but respect 2015 target - minister
By Leigh Thomas
PARIS (Reuters) - France has won backing from European partners to slightly slow the reduction of its public deficit but will still respect its EU-imposed deficit target in 2015, French Finance Minister Michel Sapin said on Thursday.
France must bring the deficit in line with an EU limit of 3 percent of national income next year, a target most economists consider out of reach after the deficit came in at 4.3 percent last year, missing its target of 4.1 percent.
Sapin said he had not sought backing from Brussels for extra time to cut the deficit, but rather had discussed and "partly" won support for changing the speed of deficit reduction.
"The pace is modified. It's been discussed with our European partners so that it's well understood," Sapin said on RTL radio.
"We have a slightly slower-than-planned pace of deficit reduction, but obviously we will respect all of commitments."
Asked to elaborate on Sapin's comments, a Finance Ministry official said the 3 percent target for 2015 held but declined to comment on whether that meant this year's 3.6 percent target would change.
Prime Minister Manuel Valls announced some details of 50 billion euros worth of savings over three years on Wednesday. They include plans to freeze some pensions and other benefits and extending caps on public-sector pay increases.
The full plan will go to the cabinet on Wednesday before a parliamentary vote on Friday. It will then be formally submitted to Brussels.
Sapin and other French officials have said they have never wavered over the budget targets, rejecting media reports they tried earlier this month to lay the ground for renegotiation but were slapped down by Brussels.
France has already received two extra years to meet the 3 percent target, and the European Commission and Berlin have little stomach for granting more time.
Although many members of Hollande's own Socialists are uneasy with the new wave of belt-tightening, party chief Jean-Christophe Cambadelis said the plan would win backing in parliament, where the Socialists have a slim majority.
"Debate is always possible, but solidarity with the government cannot be put into question," Cambadelis said on Europe 1 radio.
($1 = 0.7243 Euros)
(Reporting by Leigh Thomas; Editing by Larry King and Mark John)
