AlHijjah 07, 1435, October 01, 2014, SPA -- Under pressure from the European Union to narrow a widening deficit the French government on Wednesday presented a draft 2015 budget that offsets steep spending cuts with tax relief for millions of households, dpa reported. Presenting the budget Finance Minister Michel Sapin said the 21 billion euros (26 billion dollars) in savings planned in 2015 were "decisive for our credibility vis-a-vis the French as well as the Europeans." While the economic outlook in France and Europe was "more difficult" than initially forecast, France "has [set] a course and we are sticking to it," he assured. France has pledged to cut spending by an unprecedented 50 billion euros by 2017.
