(Bloomberg) -- Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said French state coffers have been strengthened by higher-than-expected tax earnings, projecting more optimism about the economy just days before the first round of legislative elections.

“Our tax revenues today are good,” he said in an interview with BFM TV late on Wednesday. “We have €3 billion ($3.2 billion) of extra revenues compared with what we forecast in May 2024. That’s good news.”

The nation had “a revenue accident” last year that took the deficit to 5.5% instead of below 5%, he said, adding that savings on spending will narrow the figure to 5.1% this year.

“In 2025, we should be at 4.1%,” he said. “In 2026, we’ll be slightly above 3% and in 2027 we’ll be at 3%.”

The economy has been at the center of the legislative election campaign as the far-right National Rally and a coalition of leftist parties have taken aim at President Emmanuel Macron’s record on maintaining public finances and protecting purchasing power. The government was forced to revise long-term plans to plug holes in the budget earlier this year, while S&P Global Ratings downgraded France last month and the EU has since put the country in a special procedure for member states with excessive deficits. 

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