UPDATE 1-France says sees 2009 ending better than beginning

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PARIS, Sept 7 (Reuters) - French Economy Minister Christine Lagarde said on Sunday she expected the economy in 2009 to end better than it would start and added France would keep its budget deficit below the EU-imposed limit for 2008.

The French government said Sept. 1 that it planned to cut its official growth forecast for 2008 when it presented its 2009 budget later this month.

"I think that we will finish the year 2009 better than we will start it," Lagarde said in an interview on French TV channel LCI.

"We will finish the year with a third and fourth quarter rather weak and the first two quarters of 2009 will be quarters of a new beginning," she added.

She said it was too early to give a precise growth forecast for 2009.

At a business conference in Italy, Lagarde said on Saturday the French government was reviewing its budget deficit targets for the current year and the next.

But asked if France's budget deficit would hit the EU-imposed ceiling of 3 percent of GDP in 2008 -- as some studies and reports recently suggested -- Lagarde answered on Sunday:

"We will not be at a 3 percent deficit in 2008."

"This is the commitment we have with our European partners."

Recent economic data have highlighted a worsening trend in the French economy and raised doubts about France's ability to reach its target of a budget deficit of 2.5 percent in 2008 and 2 percent for 2009 and ultimately balance it by 2012. (Reporting by Astrid Wendlandt, editing by Leslie Gevirtz)