The European Commission said on Tuesday it was discussing setting a new deadline for France to submit a plan to reduce its public deficit, confirming Paris had requested a postponement.
France, placed under formal procedure in July for violating the EU's budget rules, has been given until September 20 to outline its plan to address the breach.
But the EU executive said the bloc's rules allow for the deadline to be extended by a "reasonable period".
"The Commission will agree with member states on a new deadline that will allow for a timely assessment of the plan, taking into consideration all relevant factors put forward by each member state requesting an extension," a spokesman told French news agency AFP.
New government
France is currently awaiting the formation of a new government after President Emmanuel Macron appointed the centre-right Michel Barnier as prime minister last week, following inconclusive elections in July.
Europe's second biggest economy is one of seven countries placed by the EU in a so-called "excessive deficit procedure".
This kickstarts a process forcing a country to negotiate a plan with Brussels to get their debt or deficit levels back on track.
EU rules demand a deficit below three percent of a country's GDP, while France's deficit reached 5.5 percent in 2023.
Paris has pledged to bring it back below 3 percent by 2027 but some analysts deem that implausible as local government expenditure has surged while tax revenue decreased.
Eric Coquerel, the head of the finance committee in the National Assembly, the French parliament's lower house, said the public sector budget deficit could reach 5.6 percent this year and would rise to 6.2 percent next year if budgetary cuts of 60 billion euros are not made.
(AFP)
