The French government's planned funds for stimulating growth to ward off recession has totaled 428 billion euros, a government minister said on Tuesday.

Apart from 360 billion euros to help troubled banks, the government in December spent 22 billion euros to help small and medium-sized enterprises, 20 billion for "strategic" investment and 26 billion for other projects to stimulate the economy, said Patrick Devedjian, the newly appointed minister for economic recovery.

France intends to spend more than 40 percent of its economic stimulus investment on infrastructure projects such as railways and seaports, according to a plan the government presented in early December.

Devedjian, appointed by President Nicolas Sarkozy last month, was assigned to carry out plans to stimulate the economy, including supervising implementation of investment by government bodies.

(Xinhua News Agency January 8, 2009)