France records low budget gap in October

At the end of October, France narrowed its double digit budget deficit by 9 billion euros (12.3 billion U.S. dollars) due to high tax revenue, the Budget Ministry said on Friday. "Despite exceptional elements" that burdened the country's fiscal performance, the "overall balance improved mainly due to the increase in tax revenue," to stand at 86 billion euros compared to 94.6 billion euros reported in the same month in 2012. Working hard to collect higher revenue to respect its financial commitments, the government garnered 244.4 billion euros, up 5.8 percent from a year earlier as tax receipts grew by about 14.5 billion euros. In line with the Socialists' target, spending stood at 325.5 billion euros against 320.1 billion euros in October 2012. For 2013, French budget gap was expected to reach 71.9 billion euros from an initial estimate of 62.3 billion euros. Following slower-than-expected economic activities, the budget deficit of Europe's second largest economy would stand at 3.6 percent in 2014 and 4.1 percent this year, up from previous forecasts of 2.9 percent and 3.7 percent respectively.