The French government will pursue its planned tax cuts in 2002 despite a US-led global economic slowdown that has dampened the country's growth prospects and eaten away at tax revenues, Finance Minister Laurent Fabius has said.
Mr Fabius rebuffed critics who have called on the government to revise its plans, announced last year, to cut taxes by 120 billion French francs between 2001 and 2003.
Mr Fabius said fiscal policy in the euro zone's second largest economy was designed to boost investment and growth as well as fuel employment and distribute income more fairly.
Mr Fabius reiterated that the slowdown would lead the government to miss its budget deficit targets for 2001 and 2002, but that it remained committed to controlling spending and balancing its books in the medium term.
The 2002 budget will, to some degree, set the tone for a presidential election next year that is expected to pit socialist Prime Minister Lionel Jospin against conservative President Jacques Chirac. Mr Fabius said income tax cuts had supported the purchasing power of households, providing France with a buffer against the global slowdown.
