(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-04-05 15:23

PARIS-- French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Friday announced a wide range of new reform measures designed to reduce government budgetary expenditure and enhance the effectiveness of the public service.

According to a report presented by French Budget Minister Eric Woerth who is also in charge of public accounts and public service, the 166 measures will help the country to save up to 7 billion euros (about 11.9 billion U.S. dollars) by 2011, part of which will be redistributed to staff members.

"This reform is useful and even exemplary of what should constitute the reform of the state," President Sarkozy said in a speech at the Budget Ministry where he announced the merger between the General Directorate of Taxation and Directorate of Public Accounting.

"The commitment not to replacing two out of three public service retirees would be taken into account in the next multi- annual government budget," said the president, promising the country would have balanced its public finances by 2012.

In his speech, the head of state also proposed a better adaptation of the French diplomatic presence "in line with the challenges of the twenty-first century," the pooling of procurement services of the three armed forces as well as reforms in social policies and business support.

In addition, Sarkozy said,"The central government must absolutely enter into an era of devolution of its activities," affirming that he remained committed to effect wide-ranging and far-reaching reforms in the country.

The overhaul of the public policy is the characteristic of an " unparalleled modernization" of the government, which is aimed at " instituting in-depth changes to the administrative organization and content of public action," according to the preamble of the report presented by the budget minister.