BRUSSELS, Belgium: The European Union's executive arm has criticized France for its excessive debt, delivering a sharp rebuke during an election campaign where President Emmanuel Macron faces significant challenges from both the extreme right and left.

The EU Commission recommended that seven nations, including France, begin an "excessive deficit procedure," marking the first step toward compelling member states to take corrective actions.

"Deficit criteria are not fulfilled in seven of our member states," said EU Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis, naming Belgium, Italy, Hungary, Malta, Slovakia, and Poland, in addition to France.

For decades, the EU has aimed for member states to maintain annual deficits within 3 percent of Gross Domestic Product and overall debt within 60 percent of output. These targets have often been overlooked, sometimes by major economies like Germany and France. However, Dombrovskis emphasized that decisions must be based on facts and treaty compliance, not the size of the country.

Last year, France's annual deficit was 5.5 percent. Exceptional circumstances, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, previously allowed for leniency, but this period has ended.

The timing of this announcement is sensitive, as Macron called snap elections following his party's defeat to Marine Le Pen's hard-right National Rally in the EU parliamentary polls on June 9. Le Pen's party and a newly united left front are currently polling ahead of Macron's party, with both challengers advocating deficit spending to revitalize the economy.

In the campaign, Macron's team might use the EU's criticism to warn that the opposition's spending plans could lead to economic ruin, while opponents could argue that Macron's overspending has already impoverished the French, necessitating further spending.

Despite the reprimand, EU Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni noted that France is also progressing in addressing specific "imbalances," providing a reassuring message to EU institutions.

The International Monetary Fund forecasts that the French economy will grow by 0.8 percent of GDP in 2024, increasing to 1.3 percent in 2025.

Gentiloni stressed that excessive austerity is not the solution, referencing Greece's fiscal crisis a decade ago. "Much less does not mean back to austerity because this would be a terrible mistake," he said.

He also disputed the idea that austerity drives voters to the extreme right, pointing out that recent years of lenient budget conditions have still resulted in victories for hard-right parties in many member states. "Look at what happened in the recent elections. If the theory is 'less expenditure, stronger extremes,' well, we are not coming from a period of less expenditure," Gentiloni said.