1988 FRENCH MINISTERIAL BUDGETS FROZEN - SOURCES
Average spending by French ministries will
be virtually frozen next year within the framework of a one pct
real increase in the overall state budget, sources close to
French Finance Minister Edouard Balladur said.
    The sources said priority would be given to defence,
research and the fight against unemployment, which reached 2.66
mln people in April.
    Prime Minister Jacques Chirac yesterday chaired a
ministerial meeting on the budget and Balladur is due to make
the final decision at the end of the month.
    Budget Minister Alain Juppe said yesterday that the
government was on course to achieve its target of tax cuts
worth 50 billion francs over two years.
    Juppe gave no details but pledged that the government also
planned to cut its budget deficit down to 115 billion francs by
1988 from the 129 billion franc shortfall forecast for 1987.
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