French Prime Minister Michel Barnier on Tuesday laid out his new government’s plans to reduce the national debt, with spending cuts and tax rises in store. Barnier’s centre-right administration lacks a majority in the National Assembly, France’s lower house of parliament, but he outlined an ambitious budgetary plan to cut the deficit to 5% by the end of 2025. France has come under pressure from the European Commission for its consistently high government spending, with the national deficit for 2024 expected to reach 6%, far above the EU guideline of 3%. Barnier said that tax increases should a…