Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

France faces cuts to stay on target for Emu

John Lichfield
Wednesday 16 April 1997 23:02 BST
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The French government may have to impose emergency spending cuts this year to meet the Maastricht guidelines for membership of the European single currency.

Despite the first signs of a recovery in the French economy, mid-year spending cuts may have to be imposed to keep the budget deficit close to the target of 3 per cent of gross national product set by the Maastricht treaty.

The social security budget - covering health and unemployment - also appears to be overshooting its projected deficit for 1997. The budget short-falls, revealed by Le Monde yesterday, are blamed partly on lower than anticipated VAT receipts.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in