Although there had been increasing speculation that the government would seek extra time, Manuel Valls, the new prime minister, said while on an official visit to Germany on Monday (14 April) that France would stick to “its commitments”, saying that the credibility of the country was at stake.

The French government is discussing budgets and spending plans for the next three years this week. Its plans will be submitted to the national parliament on 29 April and passed to the Commission in May.

The Commission forecasts that France’s deficit will be 4.0% in 2014 and 3.9% in 2015, but the government has forecast a deficit of 3.6% this year and 2.8% next year.

The government’s budget predictions will have to be revised to take account of promises by Valls, who became prime minister on 31 March, to make savings of €50 billion.

Vall’s pledge to reduce the deficit in 2015 signals a willingness by the new government to avoid a damaging clash with the Commission.

Surprise move

In Paris, there was general surprise at a decision by President François Hollande to appoint Harlem Désir, who was an MEP and first secretary of the Parti Socialiste, as minister for European affairs. Relations between Désir and Hollande are notably cool, with Désir having failed to give wholehearted support to the government, so some interpreted his appointment as a sign that Hollande did not care about the EU.

A rival interpretation is that Hollande does care, and that Désir will be bypassed.

Hollande has made important changes within the ranks of the senior civil servants. He appointed Jean-Pierre Jouyet as secretary-general at the Elysée palace. Jouyet was EU affairs minister under former president Nicolas Sarkozy during France’s presidency of the EU. He graduated with Hollande from the Ecole Nationale d’Administration, and was number two in the private office of Jacques Delors during his second term as president of the European Commission, then took over from Pascal Lamy as head of Delors’ office. Most recently, he has been heading a state-owned bank, the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations.

Hollande has also given responsibility for the EU affairs secretariat, which co-ordinates France’s EU policy, to Philippe Léglise-Costa, who is already Hollande’s EU affairs adviser. The secretariat will report to the president’s office rather than, as has been the case, to the prime minister.

Léglise-Costa headed the private office of Jouyet, when the latter was EU affairs minister. Taken together, these changes suggest that Hollande will take more control of EU policy.

The reporting line for the minister for external trade has been switched. When Nicole Bricq held the role, it was attached to the ministry of finance and economy. The new minister, Fleur Pellerin, who was previously minister for SMEs, innovation and the digital economy, will report to Laurent Fabius, the foreign minister.

Despite the ministerial reshuffle, prompted by losses in March’s municipal elections, Hollande’s approval rating has slumped to a new low of 18%. Valls, by contrast, is at 58%, the largest ever gap between a president and a prime minister.