France: French court overturns ultra-rich tax

France's constitutional council has overturned a 75 percent upper tax rate on income above $1.32m, which was due to be introduced in 2013 by the socialist government.

The council's decision on Saturday, made in response to a motion by opposition conservatives, is a huge blow to President Francois Hollande who had made the rate his flagship tax measure as he sought to have the rich contribute more towards reducing the budget deficit.

While the planned upper tax band was mainly symbolic and would only have affected a few thousand people, it shocked foreign investors and infuriated high earners in France, prompting some such as actor Gerard Depardieu to flee abroad.

The government had estimated the 75 percent tax rate could raise around $400m a year as it battles to bring down the public deficit to below a European Union ceiling of three percent next year in the face of stalled growth.

The Constitutional Council, which rules on whether laws are constitutional, said in a statement that the way the upper rate was set to be imposed was unfair in the way it would affect different households.

The French prime minister's office responded that the government would push ahead with plans to impose a 75 percent upper income tax and would propose a new measure after the rate was ruled unconstitutional.

Read more: French court overturns ultra-rich tax - Europe - Al Jazeera English

Six months in, French President Francois Hollande defends tenure

President Francois Hollande

Six months after sweeping to power on an anti-austerity wave, polls say Socialist President Francois Hollande is increasingly disliked. Leftists are disappointed he's not spending more state money to create jobs. Critics on the right say he's raising too many taxes.

Hollande defended his presidency and answered critics Tuesday with what's becoming his signature message: "Recovery takes time." Fixing a zero-growth economy and 10 percent unemployment doesn't happen overnight, he said at the first big news conference of his term.

Hollande staked out bolder ground on foreign policy. He defended Greece and minimized differences with Germany over fixing Europe's economy. He warned that terrorists in northern Mali have become the biggest threat to France's national security.

But France's economy is Hollande's biggest challenge. He admitted cuts are needed in France's vast and costly public sector, which amounts to more than half of gross domestic product.  "We should be capable of doing better in spending less," he said. "We have to show -- France more than others, and more than Germany -- seriousness and competitiveness."

To leftist voters who blame banks for Europe's financial woes, he promised a draft law by the end of the year to split banks' retail activities from their riskier investment activities.

Three polls released Tuesday show approval ratings for Hollande stood between 41 percent and 44 percent.

Six months in, French President Francois Hollande defends tenure - The Reporte

Middle East: France recognizes Syrian opposition coalition - by John Irish

France broke ranks with its European allies on Tuesday by officially recognizing Syria's new opposition coalition and said it would consider arming the rebels once they created a government in waiting.

Syrian opposition groups struck a deal in Doha on Sunday to form a broad coalition to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad after 20 months of an uprising against his rule.

Arab and EU foreign ministers welcomed the formation of the coalition at a meeting in Cairo on Tuesday as an important step forward, but stopped short of recognizing it.

"I announce today that France recognizes the Syrian national coalition as the sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people and as the future government of a democratic Syria making it possible to bring an end to Bashar al-Assad's regime," Hollande told a news conference in Paris.

Read more: France recognizes Syrian opposition coalition - chicagotribune.com

French socialists win parliamentary majority

Francoise Hollande

The Socialist Party and its affiliates secured 307 seats more than the 289 needed for a majority in the 577-seat National Assembly.

The left-wing triumph means Mr Hollande, will not need to rely on the Greens, who won 16 seats, or the Communist-dominated Left Front, with 10 deputies, to pass laws.

The centre-left already controls the upper house of parliament, the Senate.
Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici called the result a vote of confidence in Mr Hollande's government that would enable it to forge ahead with its economic and eurozone policies. "Europe's future is at stake in the weeks ahead," he said.

The mainstream conservatives, who oppose Mr Hollande's plans to raise taxes on the rich, won 224 seats.

Read more: French socialists win parliamentary majority - RTÉ News

France's Hollande gains EU allies for treaty rethink

France's Socialist presidential candidate Francois Hollande gained support on Thursday from left-wing parties in Germany and Spain for his call to modify a freshly signed fiscal pact with pro-growth amendments.

Hollande, the favorite to beat Sarkozy in a May 6 election run-off, has long advocated the need for adding clauses on economic growth and job creation to the pact on fiscal discipline, signed this month by the leaders of 25 member states.

As several countries in the bloc urge some tempering of German-influenced budget cuts with a more pro-growth and employment strategy, Hollande repeated his intention to renegotiate the treaty if elected.

"The fact that some have started to think about possibilities, renegotiations and annexes proves there is a growing awareness that this treaty is flawed," Hollande told journalists in Paris. "As far as I am concerned, I am for renegotiating the treaty from the start (of his term in power).

For more:France's Hollande gains EU allies for treaty rethink | Reuters

France: No Face Time for French Front-Runner - by Gabrielle Parussini and William Boston

French presidential front-runner François Hollande is taking the lead of a coalition of European left-leaning parties pushing for growth-boosting measures to revive the Continent's flagging economy and balance calls for austerity from conservative leaders, many of whom are refusing to meet him.

As Europe's center-right leaders close their doors to the French Socialist candidate amid fears he will want to scale back fiscal measures painfully agreed to in December, Mr. Hollande has traveled to Madrid, Brussels, Berlin, Rome and London in recent months, interweaving a thick network of alliances with the Continent's opposition leaders.

Some of them—including Pier Luigi Bersani, head of Italy's Partito Democratico, and Sigmar Gabriel, who leads Germany's main opposition Social Democrats—will join Mr. Hollande at a two-day seminar in Paris next week to voice their support for him and the need for propping up the economy, according to the Socialist Party schedule.

For more: No Face Time for French Front-Runner - WSJ.com

The French in London: Bienvenue, François Hollande?

Today, to the delight of some and no doubt the derision of others, François Hollande – the erstwhile leader of the Parti Socialiste and current frontrunner in the battle for the French presidency – is coming to London. He'll be lunching with Ed Miliband, categorically not lunching with David Cameron, giving a talk at King's College and generally raising his profile on this side of the Channel.

Why? Well, as anyone who has caught a whiff of croissant or crepe while strolling through South Kensington will know, there are quite a lot of French people here. Quite how many is difficult to pinpoint, but the consulate reckons that anything up to 400,000 people could be resident – a figure that would mean there are more French people here than in Nantes (population roughly 283,000) or even Nice (population roughly 341,000).

Wily political animal that he is, Nicolas Sarkozy realised what this could mean in electoral terms in 2007, when he paid a visit to the city of the Tamise (that's the Thames) and spoke to roaring crowds at the Old Billingsgate market. Now, it appears, his challenger for the Elysée is doing the same – and hoping for a similar recompense.

For more: The French in London: Bienvenue, François Hollande? | World news | guardian.co.uk