Prime Minister Ayrault wants a balanced budget by 2017. (© AP/dapd)
In his first government statement on Tuesday, France's new Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault announced that the Socialist Party's electoral promises would be honoured despite a budget gap running into the billions. Apart from raising taxes as announced, the government has failed to present a plan for restructuring the economy, commentators complain, and warn that the country's budget woes will have drastic consequences for France and Europe.
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