Sarkozy keeps key figures November 14, 2010 French President Nicolas Sarkozy reappointed a trusted ally as prime minister and named new defense and foreign ministers in a Sunday night reshuffle aimed at shoring up his position 18 months before a presidential poll. Economy minister Christine Lagarde, budget minister Francois Baroin and interior minister Brice Hortefeux were among proven heavyweights who kept their [...]
France passes controversial pensions bill November 9, 2010 France’s Constitutional Council approved President Nicolas Sarkozy’s pension bill yesterday, clearing the last hurdle to a controversial reform that will raise the retirement age by two years to stem a huge pension deficit. Despite a late challenge by the opposition Socialist party, the council ruled that the proposed pension law does not breach constitutional rules. [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING November 5, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES NEW HOLE IN CONNAUGHT DEBT The scale of debt at Connaught, the collapsed property services group, will be greater than previously thought after administrators found 50,000 invoices that the company had not accounted for. Management accounts had led administrators from KPMG to believe that the social housing maintenance arm of Connaught owed £46m [...]
Anglo-French tie-up cheers defence firms November 2, 2010 DEFENCE contractors yesterday gave a cautious thumbs up to plans for greater military cooperation between Britain and France, which could help soften the blow of swingeing cuts to government spending on big projects. Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Nicolas Sarkozy yesterday signed two treaties, paving the way for an unprecedented degree of collaboration [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING November 1, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES LEASE FEARS FOR OFFSHORE WIND FARMS Wind farm operators building offshore risk having their leases terminated without compensation if oil and gas companies decide they need the seabed plot for exploration, drilling or pipelines. Industry executives are warning that the lease terms, issued by the Queen’s Crown Estate, could threaten the funding of [...]
French holiday faces disruption October 24, 2010 A strike at French oil refineries over pension reform disrupted school holidays and sporting events over the weekend, with a quarter of petrol stations short of fuel and popular resorts likely to be particularly hard hit. Raymond Soubie, a senior adviser to President Nicolas Sarkozy, told Europe 1 radio that the regions of Brittany, Loire-Atlantic [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING October 20, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES TRICHET OPPOSES DEAL IN EU BUDGET Jean-Claude Trichet, president of the European Central Bank, has refused to endorse the full package of Eurozone sanctions decided by European Union finance ministers this week. The revelation came amid mounting criticism in Germany of a compromise deal that Angela Merkel, the chancellor, agreed with Nicolas Sarkozy, [...]
Sarkozy calls in the cops October 20, 2010 FRENCH President Nicolas Sarkozy yesterday moved to wrest control back from strikers who have brought the country to its knees. He said yesterday he has ordered police to clear access to fuel depots after workers protesting about changes to the retirement age blocked access with human chains and piles of burning tyres. All 12 of [...]
French step up strikes in pensions row October 17, 2010 FRENCH truck drivers vowed to block key roads from last night and rail unions announced new strikes from today, putting fresh pressure on President Nicolas Sarkozy over his unpopular pension reform. New action by truckers and rail workers, continuing strikes by refinery workers and the threat of more street marches in the drive to force [...]
France hopes for strong growth in 2011 and ducks swingeing cutbacks September 29, 2010 FRANCE will curb civil service spending and scrap tax breaks but otherwise rely on faster economic growth to replenish public coffers in 2011, according to a budget bill that some economists said lacked ambition. Wary of voter dismay over pension reforms ahead of elections in early 2012, President Nicolas Sarkozy is seeking to honour deficit-reduction [...]