French Politiques for an Anglophone Audience
The future of the European project was cast into doubt last week, with research suggesting that the French people’s opinion of the European Union has fallen by 19% in the past year, reflecting a general shift in Europe away from Brussels. French support for the European project has dropped to 40%, according to Pew Research, […]
After dismal economic reports for the first four months of 2013 with France’s unemployment rate still over 10%, President François Hollande announced Monday, April 29 a plan to cut investment tax for entrepreneurs as an incentive for business interests in the French market. The plan would cut up to 65% on capital gains tax for […]
May 5 in Paris, thousands of people surrounded Place de la Bastille demanding changes in President François Hollande’s unsuccessful austerity policies. Jean-Luc Mélenchon, one of the founders of the Front de Gauche (FG), organized the rally this Sunday, following the May 1 Labor Day protests. Mélenchon reported that 180,000 came out to the event. With […]
French Labor Minister Michel Sapin released March’s job figures Thursday, April 25, which showed that Europe’s second largest economy is continuing to flounder during the economic recession. The unemployment rate reached 3,224,000, the highest yet for France. This latest joblessness figure surpasses the previous record high in January 1997 by nearly 30,000 unemployed citizens. This […]
In the fall out of a bank account scandal that overturned his life, French Budget Minister Jérôme Cahuzac has officially announced his resignation from his position as deputy and member of the National Assembly. In an interview with BFMTV and RMC on April 16, Cahuzac stated that it is extremely unlikely that he will ever […]
PARIS. –Protesters in Paris for Le Manif pour Tous – protest for all—gathered at Denfert-Rochereau metro station and marched up to Place des Invalides this Sunday April 21, calling for a referendum. The protestors reported that 270,000 people were there this Sunday while police reported 46,000. This is not the first discrepancy, as the March […]
The end of diesel? Debate around car industry (March 3) French ministers are debating raising taxes on diesel. The 18 cent difference between a liter of gas and diesel—and World Health Organization reports about the carcinogenic effects of diesel—have deterred the government from wanting to continue support of the industry. The projected 7 billion euro […]
After a November deadlock and subsequent 24-hour “marathon” of talks in the European Parliament, lawmakers in Brussels rejected a slate of proposed spending cuts in a vote on Wednesday, March 13. The first set of proposed spending cuts in the European Union’s history, the €960 billion ($1.2 billion) budget was overwhelmingly rejected 506 to 161. […]
As it has become increasingly clear that the French government will not reach its goal of a budget deficit of 3% of GDP for 2014, it has moved to cut about 5 billion euros (6.5 billion dollars) out of the budget for next year. French GDP grew a paltry 0.1% this year, a rate much […]
Following the European Commission’s economic estimates last month regarding Europe’s economies, François Hollande has announced that France will officially miss its goal to reduce the deficit to 3% from the current 4.5% for the 2013 fiscal year. This is a particularly rough blow to Hollande, who centered his election campaign on the promise to reach […]
