PARIS (Reuters) – After six months keeping the world guessing about whether he had a vision for fixing France’s sickly economy, President Francois Hollande has unveiled a battle plan “à la française” to ease companies’ labor costs and trim public spending.

But the softly-softly pace of adjustment may be too slow to satisfy financial markets after Moody’s on Monday became the second credit ratings agency to strip Paris of its AAA rating, citing both a loss of competitiveness and low growth.

PARIS (Reuters) – Rightist Jean-Francois Cope , an ally of former President Nicolas Sarkozy, claimed t he leadership of France’s main conservative party on Monday in a closely fought two-way contest marred by mutual accusations of voter fraud.

Cope, already the incumbent leader of the UMP party, beat centrist former prime minister Francois Fillon by 50.03 percent to 49.97 percent, the head of an internal voting commission said – a margin of just 98 votes out of almost 175,000 cast.

PARIS (Reuters) – The race to lead France’s conservative opposition descended into chaos on Monday, with both contenders alleging fraud in a vote that highlighted a deep split between rightists and centrists since the party lost power in May.

The bickering wrecked a contest designed to give the right a fresh start after it lost its 17-year hold on the presidency in May, and prompted political commentators to warn that the Union for a Popular Movement could collapse.

PARIS (Reuters) – France’s conservatives will elect a new leader on Sunday who will determine whether the party ousted in May from a 17-year presidential reign will hold to the centre or move to the right in a quest to regain power in 2017.

Moderate ex-prime minister Francois Fillon, who regularly tops political popularity polls, is tipped to narrowly beat Jean-Francois Cope, a disciple of ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy and his hard stance on issues including immigration.

Nov 7 (Reuters) – France stands to miss a goal of trimming
its public deficit to the EU’s target ceiling next year as tax
hikes made in the name of fiscal rigour undermine growth, the
European Commission said on Wednesday.

The EU’s executive arm saw growth in the euro zone’s
second-largest economy at just 0.4 percent next year – half the
0.8 percent assumed in the 2013 budget and held back largely by
tax rises that will hurt consumer spending.

PARIS (Reuters) – France is to grant 20 billion euros in annual tax credits to companies as a way of lowering labor costs, in a tougher-than-expected response to calls from business heads to reverse decades of industrial decline.

Responding to a call by industrialist Louis Gallois to slash labor charges companies say keep them at a competitive disadvantage, Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said tax credits would be funded by higher sales tax rates and spending cuts.

PARIS (Reuters) – France will ease payroll taxes by 20 billion euros over three years, funding that with spending cuts and sales tax rises, in a tougher-than-expected response to business leaders’ demands to reverse decades of industrial decline.

The Socialist government, under pressure to bring down high labor costs but wary of shifting too much of the tax burden onto households, will offer companies tax credits from next year and raise consumer taxes from 2014.

PARIS (Reuters) – French industrialist Louis Gallois called for a patriotic effort to reverse declining competitiveness through shock therapy as he handed in a review on Monday which the Socialist government commissioned and is now under pressure to heed.

Gallois prescribed slashing 30 billion euros ($38 billion) off payroll taxes and compensating with spending cuts and higher consumer taxes to try and stem a long industrial decline that has eaten away at exports and bled factory jobs.

PARIS (Reuters) – French industrialist Louis Gallois called for a patriotic effort to reverse declining competitiveness via shock therapy as he handed in a review on Monday which the Socialist government commissioned and is now under pressure to heed.

Gallois is prescribing slashing 30 billion euros ($38.54 billion) off payroll taxes and loosening labor laws to reverse a long decline in industrial competitiveness that has eaten away at exports and bled factory jobs.

PARIS (Reuters) – The French government is expected to play down a review on Monday that will prescribe taking an axe to payroll taxes and softening labor laws to reverse a long slide in competitiveness that has eaten away at exports and bled factory jobs.

Any expectations that the widely-leaked government-commissioned report by industrialist Louis Gallois would bring big reforms have been snuffed out in advance by the Socialist government which has ruled out “shock therapy” proposals.