BALLADUR MAINTAINS 1987 FRENCH INFLATION TARGET Finance Minister Edouard Balladur said he was maintaining his 2.5 pct inflation target for 1987 after the announcement earlier today of a 3.4 pct year-on-year rise in retail prices for February. He told a radio interviewer he saw no reason to revise his target for 1987 after the February monthly result of between 0.1 to O.2 pct, following a 0.9 pct rise in January (three pct year on year) that forced the government to revise an earlier target of two pct to a current 2.5 pct. He said he was happy with "a good result" for February but stressed a need for continued "vigilance" against inflation. A Finance Ministry statement said the year-on-year differential between French and lower West German inflation rates, calculated on the last three months, had narrowed in February to two to 2.3 pct compared to 2.7 pct in January. If calculated on the last 12 months, the differential came to 3.9 pct, the statement said, adding "The tendency is therefore one of a lessening of the inflation gap with our main trading partner."