Over 65% of French want reshuffle in Cabinet
Source: AFP |
April 8, 2013, Monday
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Print Edition
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NEARLY two-thirds of French people are in favor of a government reshuffle following a tax fraud scandal that has rocked the administration of President Francois Hollande, a survey showed yesterday.
Critics have rounded on Hollande - already in the doldrums in opinion polls - over the scandal in which ex-budget minister Jerome Cahuzac was charged with tax fraud after he admitted owning an undeclared foreign bank account containing some 600,000 euros (US$770,000).
Three in five respondents to a poll conducted for the Journal du Dimanche newspaper said they were in favor of a government reshuffle over the "Cahuzac affair".
A majority of the more than 1,000 respondents also said the scandal had had a negative impact on Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, his government and on Hollande himself.
"For the French, the Cahuzac affair is not an isolated act. There is mistrust towards their elected representatives," Frederic Dabi, deputy head of Ifop, the polling company that conducted the survey, was quoted as saying.
The scandal erupted on Tuesday after Cahuzac - once in charge of tackling tax evasion - admitted to investigators that he had the account, after repeatedly denying it to the president, in parliament and in media interviews.
Funds transferred
Originally in Switzerland, Cahuzac had the funds transferred to Singapore where he is said to have presented a "bogus" certificate to a wary Julius Baer bank, purportedly proving that his money had been declared to tax authorities, the Tages Anzeiger newspaper reported.
According to Swiss broadcaster RTS, Cahuzac also tried to place 15 million euros with a fund management firm in Switzerland, which refused the money for fear of future complications, "Cahuzac being a politically prominent figure."
Critics have accused Hollande and his deputies of either trying to cover up the scandal or of mismanagement for having believed Cahuzac's denials.
Last week, Ayrault and Hollande rejected the idea of a government reshuffle, despite growing pressure from critics .
Yesterday, former foreign minister Alain Juppe said Ayrault's government "no longer has credibility."
"A reshuffle, yes, but only if there is a change in policy," Juppe said on TV channel Canal, pointing to an "extremely serious" economic situation.
Critics have rounded on Hollande - already in the doldrums in opinion polls - over the scandal in which ex-budget minister Jerome Cahuzac was charged with tax fraud after he admitted owning an undeclared foreign bank account containing some 600,000 euros (US$770,000).
Three in five respondents to a poll conducted for the Journal du Dimanche newspaper said they were in favor of a government reshuffle over the "Cahuzac affair".
A majority of the more than 1,000 respondents also said the scandal had had a negative impact on Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, his government and on Hollande himself.
"For the French, the Cahuzac affair is not an isolated act. There is mistrust towards their elected representatives," Frederic Dabi, deputy head of Ifop, the polling company that conducted the survey, was quoted as saying.
The scandal erupted on Tuesday after Cahuzac - once in charge of tackling tax evasion - admitted to investigators that he had the account, after repeatedly denying it to the president, in parliament and in media interviews.
Funds transferred
Originally in Switzerland, Cahuzac had the funds transferred to Singapore where he is said to have presented a "bogus" certificate to a wary Julius Baer bank, purportedly proving that his money had been declared to tax authorities, the Tages Anzeiger newspaper reported.
According to Swiss broadcaster RTS, Cahuzac also tried to place 15 million euros with a fund management firm in Switzerland, which refused the money for fear of future complications, "Cahuzac being a politically prominent figure."
Critics have accused Hollande and his deputies of either trying to cover up the scandal or of mismanagement for having believed Cahuzac's denials.
Last week, Ayrault and Hollande rejected the idea of a government reshuffle, despite growing pressure from critics .
Yesterday, former foreign minister Alain Juppe said Ayrault's government "no longer has credibility."
"A reshuffle, yes, but only if there is a change in policy," Juppe said on TV channel Canal, pointing to an "extremely serious" economic situation.
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