Balancing France's budget for the 2026 calendar year will be a tough challenge due to needing to both cut the deficit and make room for higher military spending, government spokeswoman Sophie Primas said on Wednesday.

"The prime minister today insists that the 2026 budget, which is going to be a nightmare given the extent of our financial difficulties, be worked upon and consulted upon by the full social and parliamentary spectrum, many of whom often feel they are not listened to," she told Public Senat TV.

"It is going to be a very difficult budget," she added.

Centrist Prime Minister Francois Bayrou's government wants to reduce the public sector budget deficit from 5.4% of economic output this year - one of the biggest fiscal shortfalls in the European Union - to the bloc's 3% ceiling in 2029.

Finance Minister Eric Lombard said this month that work was underway to boost defence spending in a way that neither added to France's debt burden nor undermined its welfare system, which is cherished by many citizens despite being costly.

(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta Editing by Bernadette Baum)