The French government has sent a 2024 spending plan to parliament calling for 4.2 billion euros ($4.7 billion) in spending cuts as it seeks to cut the deficit even as it increases its green transition allocation.

A Finance Ministry official said the decline in overall spending was 3.5 percent in real terms, once inflation was taken into account. Bloomberg reported that the largest drop was in the amount allocated to help protect households and businesses from rising fuel and energy costs.

France targets a budget deficit of 4.4% of gross domestic product for 2024, down from a target of 4.9% this year.

The aim is to bring that down to less than 3%, the limit set under EU rules, by the end of Emmanuel Macron's second term as president in 2027.