The Local France

Hollande denies Merkel rift over reforms

Wed, 14 Nov 2012 11:06:00 +0100

French president Francois Hollande on Tuesday underlined that the government was committed to reforms to plug a multi-billion euro deficit, denying strains with Germany over how best to combat the debt crisis.

IMF chief cautious on French-German debt pact

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 10:20:00 +0100

International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde on Monday welcomed France and Germany's push for tough fiscal standards in the eurozone, but said more steps were needed to tackle the
region's crisis.

France, Germany demand pact as S&P talks tough

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 10:13:00 +0100

France and Germany called on Monday for Europe's leaders to agree strict rules for fiscal discipline at their summit this week, as Standard and Poor's threatened the region with sweeping ratings downgrades.

Sarkozy and Merkel demand tough new pact

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 18:49:00 +0100

France and Germany want a new EU treaty by March with tougher budgetary rules to deal with the eurozone debt crisis, President Nicolas Sarkozy and Chancellor Angela Merkel said after crisis talks on Monday.

France's top credit rating at risk: Moody's

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 16:09:00 +0100

An increase in French government borrowing costs, slowing growth and the eurozone debt crisis threatens the country's top credit rating, Moody's ratings agency warned on Monday, adding to market jitters.

Eurozone bond markets squeeze France

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 16:00:00 +0100

French and Spanish borrowing costs shot up on Thursday as the spread between their bonds and those of Germany hit a record high despite political leaders' promises to end the eurozone debt crisis.

French police dismantle Occupy camp

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 10:29:00 +0100

French police late on Tuesday dismantled a two-week-old makeshift camp of anti-capitalist 'Indignant' protesters in Paris' La Defense business district, an AFP reporter witnessed.

France-Germany rate gap at eurozone record

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 18:05:00 +0100

The gaps between the German borrowing rate and French and Spanish rates widened sharply to record amounts on Tuesday, in a new sign of acute tension at the heart of the eurozone.

France 'not worth its AAA rating': report

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 11:26:51 +0100

France shouldn't enjoy AAA status given its low growth prospects and dire public accounts, says a report published by think tank The Lisbon Council and German bank Berenberg Bank.

Use 'overwhelming force' to fix crisis, US tells EU

Thu, 03 Nov 2011 17:32:00 +0100

The United States urged Europe on Thursday to use "overwhelming force" to fix the sovereign debt crisis threatening to tip the world economy into recession.

Record French bond gap shows eurozone tensions

Thu, 03 Nov 2011 15:04:00 +0100

The gap between German and French sovereign borrowing rates widened to a record on Thursday and the 10-year cost of borrowing for Italy reached a record briefly above 6.402 percent.

Summit deal saved euro: French finance minister

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 11:30:00 +0200

A deal reached at a summit of eurozone leaders has saved the single currency, French Finance Minister François Baroin said on Thursday.

French finance minister 'convinced' of EU deal

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 12:32:00 +0200

French Finance Minister Francois Baroin said he was "convinced" that European leaders would agree on a comprehensive deal to end the eurozone debt crisis at a summit on Wednesday.

France and Germany split on bailout fund: report

Fri, 07 Oct 2011 19:04:00 +0200

Splits have emerged between the eurozone's top two economies on how best to use the beefed-up bailout fund to tackle the debt crisis, German business daily Handelsblatt reported on Friday.

Greece courts Sarkozy after German bail-out win

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 19:53:00 +0200

Greece's Prime Minister George Papandreou brought his campaign to save his economy to Paris on Friday as nervous markets turned their attention to a key international audit of Greek finances.

Societe Generale rebounds after trade suspended

Fri, 19 Aug 2011 11:06:00 +0200

Trading in French bank Societe Generale, after being briefly suspended at the market opening Thursday, rebounded with the share price rising 8.9 percent to 24.16 euros.

S&P says France will maintain top rating

Thu, 18 Aug 2011 11:42:00 +0200

Standard & Poor's is confident France will maintain its top AAA credit rating, the agency's European chief said Thursday, amid rumours of a possible downgrade amid intensifying eurozone debt strains.

Sarkozy, Merkel eye 'true eurozone government'

Wed, 17 Aug 2011 11:08:00 +0200

France's Nicolas Sarkozy and Germany's Angela Merkel vowed to give the eurozone bloc a "true economic government" on Tuesday but experts said their pledges were not enough to defuse the debt crisis.

Sarkozy and Merkel to meet on debt

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 17:25:00 +0200

France's Nicolas Sarkozy will meet counterpart Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday amid market dismay over the eurozone debt crisis, but Germany warned not to expect a breakthrough on financial reform.

In lean times, internet spurs second-hand market in France

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 11:33:00 +0200

Used to the good life, France has lagged behind many other countries in using the marketing muscle of the internet to spur interest in second-hand goods.