French government hikes 2019 deficit target: minister

PARIS (Reuters) – The French government now expects a 2019 budget deficit of 2.5 percent of economic output excluding the one-off impact of transforming a payroll tax rebate into a permanent cut, the budget minister said on Tuesday.

Before President Emmanuel Macron announced concessions to anti-government protestors, the government had previously expected a deficit excluding one-offs of 1.9 percent of gross domestic product.

As the overall deficit was previously expected at 2.8 percent, the new underlying deficit risks pushing the overall number towards 3.4 percent – past the European Union’s 3-percent limit.

Speaking before parliament, Darmanin also said that the concessions announced on Tuesday by Macron would amount to 10 billion euros ($11.4 billion), including the cancelling of energy tax hikes already announced last week.

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