His comments chime with British Prime Minister Tony Blair's call on Saturday for efforts to reduce oil prices, which have scaled record peaks as the price of a barrel of U.S. crude hit $60.95 earlier this week. "The big negative factor is the oil price ... the slightly more positive factor is the rise in the dollar," Cope told Radio J, referring to the French economic outlook. "Today, (oil) prices are at such high levels that this should not last forever. Any concerted initiative which would help lower the price of oil would clearly be a move in the right direction," he added. Britain, Germany and Canada have signaled that oil prices are likely to be on the agenda when leaders from the Group of Eight nations meet in Scotland next week. The G8 comprises the United States, Canada, Japan, Germany, Italy, France, Britain and Russia. Cope repeated the government's growth predictions for 2005 and 2006 and its intention of bringing the budget deficit below 3 percent of gross domestic product this year, but noted there were some risks. RISKS TO GOALS French Finance Minister Thierry Breton last month said the economy would at best grow by 2 percent this year, cutting the forecast from a previous range of 2.0 to 2.5 percent. Growth in 2006 is forecast between 2.25 and 2.75 percent. Despite weaker-than-expected economic activity, Breton has reaffirmed France's plan to bring its 2005 deficit below the European Union cap of 3 percent of GDP, which it has broken every year since 2002. Cope said the government was working to reach this goal but admitted that "there are a certain number of risks." Among those risks are spending on social security and the possibility that tax receipts could undershoot expectations. Cope said tax receipts from companies could turn out to be as much as 4 billion euros ($4.83 billion) below the previous forecast. However, he said value added tax receipts and income tax receipts were so far in line with expectations and stressed that the government was keeping a tight grip on public spending. He also sought to dispel gloom about the outlook for the euro zone's second-biggest economy: "The worst is behind us." Cope said there would be a very positive economic impact in terms of job creation and investment if the Paris bid to host the 2012 Olympic Games were successful. In a wide-ranging interview, Cope also firmly fended off any suggestion that Breton had been weakened after police earlier this week searched offices at his ministry in connection with an investigation into the past accounts of chemical firm Rhodia. Breton, who headed the firm's audit committee during 1999-2002 -- the period for which its accounts are being investigated for suspected inaccuracies -- has denied he did anything wrong and vowed to fight his corner. PIN/REUTERS