PARIS — The French government said it would reduce spending in 2024 by an extra €10 billion as the French economy is growing slower than expected.
“We earn less, we spend less, it’s a rule of common sense,” French Economy and Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told reporters Monday, citing increased interest rates and geopolitical tensions including the wars in Ukraine and Gaza as reasons for the economic slowdown.
Last year, Paris outlined its spending plans for 2024 assuming that the economy would grow by 1.4 percent — an estimate France’s High Council of Public Finances, an independent watchdog, then deemed overoptimistic.
