And moving in the opposite direction...

EU Rehn : Extra Austerity Measures not Essential in France-Report
 "Further austerity measures are not "essential" in France, European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs Olli Rehn said in an interview with French daily Le Monde published Friday.  French President Francois Hollande has pledged to bring the country's deficit down to 3% of gross domestic product next year from 4.5% in 2012. But growth forecasts, including from national statistics bureau Insee, suggest the economy may not be strong enough for the government to meet that target without extra austerity measures."

France should review 2013 deficit target with EU partners: IMF
"(Reuters) - France should worry more about the credibility of its efforts to cut back on flab in public finances than whether or not it meets the EU's 3 percent of GDP target for the budget deficit immediately, the IMF's mission chief said on Wednesday...Edward Gardner said that in order to respect the 3 percent target the Socialist government would have to carry out even more belt-tightening than already planned, which would weigh on growth that already was likely to be subdued...."Our recommendation is that France discuss the fact in a broader European context (about what would be) the appropriate stance for 2013," Gardner said in a conference call with journalists...Eager to forge his fiscal credibility, President Francois Hollande already aims to carry out a belt-tightening effort that is unprecedented in modern France in order to reach the deficit target..."The importance is really the credibility of the medium-term orientation of policies," Gardner said.  "Whether it's 3 or 3.5 percent next year matters less to the extent that France can give reasonable credible assurances about the direction of policies," he added."

Here is the blurb from the IMF
"The International Monetary Fund’s latest annual check-up of the French economy said the country’s economy grew 0.2 percent in 2012. The IMF predicts the economy will grow 0.4 percent in 2013 and that unemployment will rise further...“France has become a less open economy than its European peers over the last decade, which limits the economy’s ability to rebound in the short term, and will constrain growth over the next few years,” said Edward Gardner, an assistant director in the IMF’s European Department and head of the mission that conducted the assessment...To get the economy growing again, France needs to regain competitiveness relative to its main trading partners, according to the IMF...The IMF said the key to growth and employment lies in reforming the structures and institutions that affect the way the country’s economy functions. Such structural reforms should include policies to make the labor market more responsive to the needs of enterprises and at the same time more inclusive for employees, as well as policies to increase competition in product markets. "