MSN:France set to spend 300 mn euros to cut petrol prices
"Pump prices will drop up to six cents, three for fuel companies and three for the state," he said following a meeting with fuel companies.
The temporary three-month measure would cost the French state around 300 million euros ($375 million) in lost tax revenue, and would then be followed by a more permanent mechanism, said the minister.
Keeping a lid on pump prices which have soared to record levels was a prominent pledge of Francois Hollande's presidential campaign that swept the Socialists to power earlier this year.
But with the French economy stagnating over the past nine months, the government is struggling to cut the public deficit to 4.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) this year and to the EU limit of 3.0 percent next year.
