Bank of France Governor Christian Noyer said on Friday that the French government can do more to reduce spending.
In an interview on the RTL Radio, Noyer said a balance must be found between necessary improvement in public finances, which must be credible, without hurting economic activity.
Earlier on Friday, French President Francois Hollande said that the European Commission has asked further details on the 2015 budget that shows the government is set to miss the budget deficit target.
The EU has asked the French government for a reply by the end of the week. The government had forecast budget deficit at 4.3 percent of GDP in 2015, well above the Maastricht target of 3 percent, and has planned a EUR 21 billion spending cut.
The government could do more on spending cuts, but first it should achieve the planned EUR 21 billion reduction, Noyer said.
Noyer, who is also an ECB Governing Council member, urged France and Italy to adopt more budget reforms and Germany to provide more stimulus to its economy by promoting investment.
Further, Noyer said he was awaiting the bank stress results with calm. The ECB is due to publish the results on Sunday.
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