A small business view of the French economy
French President Francois Hollande's government is due to present its first budget, and is expected to commit to a sharp reduction in the public deficit.
The budget will include measures to plug a 30bn euro (£23.8bn; $38.7bn) hole in the country's finances.
The last few months have already seen thousands of lay-offs by some of France's largest firms such as Peugeot, Air France and Carrefour - and confirmation this week that unemployment has passed the three million mark.
Our Europe business correspondent Nigel Cassidy reports from Northern France - where he has been hearing about the concerns of one small business.