PARIS, May 31 (Reuters) – French consumer spending rebounded
more strongly than expected in April despite rising
unemployment, as higher energy spending due to unseasonably cold
weather more than compensated for a decline in manufacturing
output.

With France’s jobless rate at a near 13-year high and
rising, analysts say that household spending – the motor of
France’s 2 trillion euro economy – was still likely to cool in
the coming months.

PARIS (Reuters) – Market turmoil over the euro zone crisis could last another 12 to 24 months, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Friday, saying it was up to the Greeks to decide if they wanted to stay in the single currency.

Schaeuble said he was confident France’s new Socialist government would ratify Europe fiscal pact because policymakers were working on a strategy to improve growth, as demanded by French President Francois Hollande.

PARIS (Reuters) – Market turmoil over the euro zone crisis could last another 12 to 24 months, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Friday, saying it was up to the Greeks to decide if they wanted to stay in the single currency.

Schaeuble said he was confident France’s new Socialist government would ratify Europe fiscal pact because policymakers were working on a strategy to improve growth, as demanded by French President Francois Hollande.

PARIS, May 18 (Reuters) – Market turmoil over the euro zone
crisis could last another 12 to 24 months, German Finance
Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Friday, saying it was up to
the Greeks to decide if they wanted to stay in the single
currency.

Schaeuble said he was confident France’s new Socialist
government would ratify Europe fiscal pact because policymakers
were working on a strategy to improve growth, as demanded by
French President Francois Hollande.

PARIS (Reuters) – French President Francois Hollande named a government dominated by moderate left-wingers on Wednesday after Socialist Party boss Martine Aubry, overlooked for the post of prime minister, said she no longer wanted to be part of the new cabinet.

Hollande, sworn in on Tuesday as France’s first Socialist president in 17 years, named Pierre Moscovici as finance minister and Laurent Fabius as foreign minister, key posts under Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, like them a social democrat.

PARIS (Reuters) – French President Francois Hollande named a government dominated by moderate left-wingers on Wednesday after Socialist Party boss Martine Aubry, overlooked for the post of prime minister, said she no longer wanted to be part of the new cabinet.

Hollande, sworn in on Tuesday as France’s first Socialist president in 17 years, named Pierre Moscovici as finance minister and Laurent Fabius as foreign minister, key posts under Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, like them a social democrat.

PARIS (Reuters) – Pierre Moscovici, named French finance minister on Wednesday, is a reform-minded Social Democrat whose expertise in European affairs will prove valuable as France leads a fight-back against Germany-led austerity in Europe.

The bald 54-year-old, who was a junior European Affairs minister in a previous Socialist government, was catapulted to France’s top economics job after managing Francois Hollande’s successful campaign for the presidency.

PARIS, May 16 (Reuters) – Pierre Moscovici, named French
finance minister on Wednesday, is a reform-minded Social
Democrat whose expertise in European affairs will prove valuable
as France leads a fight-back against Germany-led austerity in
Europe.

The bald 54-year-old, who was a junior European Affairs
minister in a previous Socialist government, was catapulted to
France’s top economics job after managing Francois Hollande’s
successful campaign for the presidency.

PARIS, May 16 (Reuters) – The government of France’s new
President Francois Hollande is likely to be dominated by
moderate social democrats after party leader Martine Aubry,
overlooked for the prime minister’s role, said on Wednesday she
would not be in the cabinet.

Aubry, daughter of former European Commission president
Jacques Delors and on the left of the Socialist Party, who was
once tipped to be its candidate in the presidential election,
made it clear she was unhappy to accept a consolation post.

PARIS (Reuters) – French President Francois Hollande is to unveil his government on Wednesday, likely to opt for moderate social democrats in the key posts of finance and foreign affairs and put a more old school Socialist in charge of a new super ministry for youth and education.

The cabinet, due to be announced in early afternoon, is expected to respect gender parity and reflect Hollande’s pledge to make schools and youth employment a central priority of his administration.