France’s Gaping Budget Hole Leaves Macron Strategy in Doubt (2)

France’s budget deficit is slipping away from the government’s control, undermining President Emmanuel Macron’s credibility as an economic reformer capable of resolving the country’s fiscal challenges.

Official figures on Tuesday showed the gap between income and outlays expanded to 5.5% of economic output in 2023 from 4.8% in the previous year, far wider than the 4.9% the government planned for.

Growth in tax revenues slowed sharply as the euro area’s second-biggest economy stagnated and the pace of expansion in spending eased only slightly, according to statistics agency Insee.

The wider deficit is a blow to Macron, who ...