Economic and Political Crisis Forces Resignation of French Government

french_CrisisIn the midst of a political and economic crisis, Prime Minister Manuel Valls presented today the resignation of his government to President Francois Hollande, who charged him with assembling a new government.

According to a communiqué from the Elysee Palace, the president asked Valls to put together a team aligned with the direction that he himself has set for the country.

The resignation occurred barely 147 days after Valls assumed his duties, replacing Jean-Marc Ayrault after the Socialist Party was trounced at the polls in municipal elections in March.

This time, the trigger was the interview given by Arnaud Montebourg, Economy Minister, to the Le Monde daily newspaper, calling for a change in direction to prioritize the country’s departure from the crisis, instead of insisting on reducing the deficit in public spending.

“It’s time for France to resist Germany’s austerity obsession; alternative measures that support domestic consumption in the Eurozone must be sought,” said Montebourg.

According to the minister, the forced deficit reduction “is an economic aberration because it aggravates unemployment, as well as an absurd financial concept because it impedes balancing the public budget.”

Interviewed today on the subject, Montebourg added that currently there is a worldwide discussion about correcting the errors in economic policy that all European countries made simultaneously.

Benoit Jamon, the Education minister, added his own criticisms this weekend, rejecting the austerity measures and advocating measures to kickstart consumption.

“Nobody’s going to be able to sell anything to the French if they don’t have sufficient income to buy anything,” he said.

Contrary to campaign promises to move away from austerity and encourage growth, the French government has been implementing the most restrictive budget since the Second World War.

The latest statistics distributed here indicate that gross domestic product (GDP) remains stagnant and unemployment has continued its unstoppable rise, with more than 3.4 million people out of work.

As a consequence, the popularity rating of both the president and his prime minister are in a nosedive.

Hollande’s approval rating has sunk beneath all previous records, at 17 percent, while Valls lost 20 percentage points in just three months, with only 36 percent of the French saying they were satisfied with his work. (PL)

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