PARIS, Dec. 3 -- French Finance Minister Michel Sapin on Wednesday revised down next year's budget deficit to 4.1 percent from an initial forecast of 4.3 percent, adding the expected performance would help the country to honor commitment to reach the safe line mandated by the European Union (EU) in 2017.

"We revise 2015 deficit to 4.1 percent against the planned 4.3 percent without changing the bases of France 's economic policy. This revision allows us to secure the target to reduce the gap well below 3 percent in 2017," Sapin said.

In a bid to better meet deficit cut obligation, trim joblessness and revive dim growth, the French government pledged to bring down the double digit budget gap by 3.6 billion euros (about 4.5 billion U.S. dollars), or 0.5 percent of the GDP between 2014 and 2015, thanks to reduced debt costs and measures to fight against fraud and tax optimization.

Under EU pressure to put its finances in order, France acknowledged it would miss next year's target to reduce its budget deficit to 3 percent and postpone by two years the deadline set by the European Commission, blaming wane economic growth and weak inflation in the eurozone.

The government forecasted the budget gap at 4.4 percent this year. It said to reach the EU deficit safe line by 2017 with an estimated 2.8 percent.

In its new economic report, the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) saw "less ambitious" result on budget deficit cut due to revenue shortfalls.

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