According to official data, French government agencies are required to make additional spending cuts as the 2023 public deficit exceeded its target.

The public accounts for last year revealed a deficit of 5.5% of economic output, a rise from 4.8% in 2022 and surpassing the government's 4.9% target, says statistics agency INSEE.

France's finance minister, Bruno Le Maire said tax revenue was a weaker-than-forecast €21 billion, as inflation fell more quickly than planned, Reuters reports.

Whereas spending on unemployment benefits and local government expenditures were more than expected, the finance minister added.

"I'm calling for a collective wake-up call to reduce public spending. We have to firmly abandon all spending that does not yield the expected results," Le Maire said.

He went on to state his intention to communicate with hundreds of French public agencies on Tuesday, directing them to identify budgetary savings corresponding to their available cash flow. Additionally, local governments would be urged to tighten their budgets accordingly.

Although the government had previously cautioned that the deficit would be worse than initially forecast, it still means additional budget savings are required this year in order to meet a deficit target of 4.4% for 2024.

The French government has already signalled plans for an additional €10 billion in budget cuts for this year and has indicated the possibility of passing legislation midway through the year to implement further savings measures if needed.

The finance minister said he was determined to reduce the deficit to under a European Union limit of 3% by 2027 and ruled out the option of hiking taxes.

Moreover, rating agencies are scheduled to update their French debt ratings in April and May, ahead of EU parliamentary elections.

In addition, the INSEE statistics agency said the country's public debt stood at 110.6% of GDP at the end of Q4 last year, compared to 111.9% at the end of Q4 2022.