Crunch talks on new Greek bailout under way

The German and Greek finance ministers are holding talks with IMF and Eurogroup chiefs ahead of a meeting of eurozone finance ministers on Friday.

French employers urge Hollande to speed up reforms, cut spending

(Reuters) - French employer groups called on President Francois Hollande to speed up reforms and cut public spending to revive the ailing economy in a joint statement issued on Sunday ahead of an annual conference of government officials, employers and labor unions.

French government announces tax relief as euro election looms

(Reuters) - French Prime Minister Manuel Valls, struggling to win back disgruntled voters, said on Friday his government planned to exempt a further 1.8 million households from income tax, at a cost to the state of 1 billion euros ($1.4 billion).

Hollande’s Announcement of Split to Move Focus to Economy

Francois Hollande’s announcement that he has split from partner Valerie Trierweiler should end weeks of discussion about the French president’s private life and turn attention back to the economy, politicians said.

French economy 'still looking weak'

France's unemployment rate is stubbornly high, just below 11%, and economic growth is persistently weak.

Roma Employment Drive Falls Short as $14 Billion Untapped

Bodvalenke, a hamlet in Hungary’s northeast, was supposed to be a symbol of possibilities for the Roma, Europe’s largest ethnic minority.

Eurozone needs 'faster' integration: French President Francois Hollande

BRUSSELS: French President Francois Hollande on Friday called for eurozone countries to go "further and faster" in an integration process that should also include a "social dimension".

France clips wings of 'chick' entrepreneurs

PARIS: France trimmed tax breaks and other advantages for small entrepreneurs on Wednesday, saying the benefits introduced under former President Nicolas Sarkozy had failed to help business start-ups and were open to abuse.

Eurozone crisis is over: Francois Hollande

TOKYO: The crippling debt crisis that has ravaged Europe for years is finished, France's President Francois Hollande has declared, despite high unemployment and lingering recession on the continent.

French will accept pain for reform gain: Survey

PARIS: Nearly three-quarters of French want President Francois Hollande to push further ahead with economic reforms and are ready to make personal sacrifices as long the pain is fairly distributed, a survey by pollster BVA found on Wednesday.

France to slash 24K military jobs, seeking savings

PARIS: France said Monday it will cut another 24,000 military jobs by 2019 as it attempts to maintain a force ready to deal with global threats at the time when the bill for France's decades of deficit spending is due.

ECB'S Praet says France must cut spending and reform

PARIS (Reuters) - France must cut spending to meet its budget deficit target and undertake structural reforms to boost competitiveness, European Central Bank Executive Board Member Peter Praet said on Tuesday.

Merkel insists on austerity despite protests

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel took her fiscal discipline message to bailed-out Portugal on Monday, tolerating Nazi jibes from a small group of protesters as she advocated the benefits of austerity and economic reforms.

France to raise VAT to fund company tax breaks

The French government has said it will raise value added tax and cut public spending in order to fund tax credits for firms that keep jobs in France.

Greek opposition rejects new cuts but won't force poll

PARIS (Reuters) - Greece's opposition leader denounced international lenders' demands as dealing the "final blow" to a devastated economy but said on Friday he would not seek to bring down the government.

Hollande approval rating slips to 54 percent: Ifop poll

PARIS (Reuters) - French President Francois Hollande's approval rating fell to 54 percent in August, continuing a steady decline since he came to office, according to a poll released on Saturday.

French economy shows zero growth in Q2: INSEE

PARIS: The French economy managed zero growth in the second quarter of 2012, data showed Tuesday, beating expectations it would begin a slide into recession.

West Africa to seek UN mandate for action on Mali

PARIS (Reuters) - West African nations will seek a U.N. Security Council mandate for military intervention in Mali where rising Islamist militancy has made the country an international security threat, Niger's President Mahamadou Issoufou said on Monday.

French unions warn of mass job cuts in reform talks

PARIS (Reuters) - French unions pressed President Francois Hollande at the start of labor talks on Tuesday to prove his job-saving mettle by handing his Socialist cabinet a list of looming company shutdowns that are threatening tens of thousands of jobs.

Greece starts work on new polls as euro crisis deepens

ATHENS: Greece began preparing Friday for its second election in just six weeks, with increasing alarm over the crisis in the eurozone after the savage downgrading of banks in Spain.