Promising to enact budget cuts but avoid austerity measures, the new French Prime Minister Manuel Valls won a vote of confidence on Tuesday from parliament. The vote was 306 in favor, with 239 against.
Valls, who has been on the job all of a week, outlined a three-year plan that aimed at reducing France's deficit, reports The Wall Street Journal. The plan would also help pave the way for a 30 billion euro payroll tax reduction for companies.
Valls' noted that French households would also see some help out of the plan after the Socialist Party lost seats in the recent election. "French people have expressed their disappointment, their doubts their discontent and sometimes their anger."
According to Reuters, Valls said that though there will be budget cuts, they would avoid austerity measures. "I am all for respecting our commitments, for budgetary rigour but not for austerity ... I do not want to harm growth, otherwise our deficits won't fall and neither will unemployment."
The prime minister also noted that he would discuss this plan with their "European partners." Those partners would include Germany and European Union officials who have publicly noted they are not likely to grant France any extension towards reducing their deficit.
France had previously promised to reduce its deficit of 4.3 percent in 2013 down to 3 percent by 2015.