Emergency Effort to Save Hollande’s Job

With a national election 15 months away and unemployment not falling, a crisis in France emerged: French president Francois Hollande’s own job is at risk.

Having  promised to step down as president if unemployment in France fails to drop this year, Hollande took the necessary action. 

He declared a state of emergency to save jobs, namely his.

Hollande Declares State of Emergency 

Please consider Hollande Outlines Jobs Plan to Tackle Economic ‘Emergency’ 

 François Hollande has returned to traditional leftwing tenets for a last-ditch plan to cut persistently high unemployment and salvage his chances of re-election next year, saying France is in an economic “state of emergency”.

The measures, which the president detailed in a speech on Monday, involve the creation of 500,000 vocational training schemes, additional subsidies for small companies and a programme to boost apprenticeships.

“We have to act so that growth becomes more robust and job creation more abundant,” Mr Hollande said in an address to unions and business leaders.

Since 2012, when Mr Hollande came to power, more than 600,000 people have joined the ranks of the unemployed at a time when joblessness has decreased in most of the other large European economies. Despite recovering margins, companies are still hesitant to hire workers. 

Under Monday’s announcement, which takes effect immediately, companies with fewer than 250 workers will receive a €2,000 payout for hiring youths and unemployed people on low salaries for contracts lasting more than six months. Temporary tax breaks, announced in 2014, will become permanent, Mr Hollande said.

A package of liberalising reforms passed in parliament last year, spearheaded by Emmanuel Macron, the reformist economy minister, has not spurred employment significantly. Doubts are mounting over Mr Macron’s ability to push through additional reforms this year.