France Needs Six Billion Additional Euros in Taxes To Meet Targets

The red ink is a little deeper than anticipated

The French government will have to raise an extra 6 billion euros in taxes next year to make up for a shortfall in its finances, the budget minister said on Monday.

President Francois Hollande had said that he wants the government to focus on trimming back spending rather than raising new taxes after already hitting taxpayers with billions in new levies since coming to power last year.

But with the economy proving weaker than expected this year, the government is already seeking more wiggle room on its strained finance by asking the European Union for an extra year to meet its deficit-cutting targets.