French PM Seeks Additional €43 Billion in Budget Savings

The significance here is less the headline figure than what it signals about how far fiscal consolidation has moved up the political agenda in France, a core euro-area sovereign. The absence of detail on measures or timing leaves the credibility of the adjustment unresolved, which is precisely the variable markets tend to price. Whether the government can translate the target into specified, politically survivable measures is the open question worth watching.