French public deficit on the up
France’s annual government deficit widened to €13.4bn (£11.5bn) in January, up from a deficit of €9.2bn at the same time last year, official data showed yesterday. However, the deficit for 2011 is still expected to fall to 5.9 per cent of GDP, down from 7.5 per cent of GDP in 2010, according to Laurence Boone of Barclays Capital.