France's budget gap slightly narrows in January

France reported a slight decrease in budget deficit at the end of January, government data showed on Friday. The French budget gap stood at 12.7 billion euros (17.6 billion U.S. dollars) compared to 12.8 billion euros registered in the same month the previous year, the budget ministry said. A 1.2-billion-euro rise in French net tax receipts helped the country to collect 23.2 billion euros, up from 21.9 billion euros, while spending reached 32.6 billion euros, up 1.6 percent compared to 32.1 billion euros in 2013. With a 15-billion-euro cut in public spending this year, the government forecast the 2014 deficit at 82.2 billion euros, or 3.6 percent of the country's GDP. In a recent report, the European Commission warned France that it would miss budget deficit reduction target unless it takes action. In 2013, the eurozone's second largest economy was given two extra years to bring its budget deficit below the EU ceiling of 3 percent of GDP.