FRANCE UNVEILScuts package
The French government unveiled a package of spending cuts and tax rises in a bid to reduce the deficit sharply in the face of pressure from its European partners and international investors.
The 2011 budget presented in parliament includes 40 billion euros (34bn) in spending cuts and extra revenue that Budget Minister Francois Baroin says will rein in the country’s deficit to six per cent of gross domestic product next year from 7.7 per cent in 2010.
“This is a historic budget,” Baroin said. “A drop in the deficit by 1.7 percentage points in one year has not been seen in 50 years,” he said.
To meet its goal, the government is also counting on economic growth picking up to two per cent next year.