Hollande dissolves French government
Print Edition
FRENCH President Francois Hollande dissolved the government yesterday after open feuding over the country’s stagnant economy.
Prime Minister Manuel Valls offered up his Socialist government’s resignation after accusing the outspoken economy minister of crossing a line with his criticism of government policies. Hollande accepted the resignation and ordered Valls to form a new government by today.
France has had effectively no economic growth this year and unemployment is hovering around 10 percent. The country is under pressure from the European Union to get its finances in order, but Economy Minister Arnaud Montebourg has questioned whether the austerity pressed by the EU will kickstart growth.
Hollande’s promises to cut taxes and make it easier for businesses to open and operate have stalled, meanwhile, in large part because of the divisions among Socialists.
“A major change in our economy policy,” was what Montebourg had said was needed, just days after Hollande had expressly said there would be no change in direction.
The minister’s comments angered the Socialist leadership, which said Montebourg’s job was to support the government, not criticize it from within.
“He’s not there to start a debate but to put France back on the path of growth,” Carlos Da Silva, the Socialist Party spokesman, told Le Figaro newspaper.
Montebourg’s criticism of austerity have rankled before.
Last week, he said that France’s neighbor had been “trapped by the policy of austerity.”
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