Paris announces economy reforms amid protests

BRUSSELS - The French government on Wednesday (10 December) announced economic reforms aimed at spurring growth and avoiding EU fines due to an oversized budget deficit.

“We need to unblock the economy, liberate energies, lift constraints,” French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said when presenting the plan.

With thousands protesting against the reforms, which are also opposed by the more left-wing parts of the ruling Socialist party, Valls added: “Sometimes you have to choose risk over rent, immobilisation, conservatism. The French are ready, often more than their leaders.”

The plan includes increasing the number of businesses operating on Sundays and opening up protected sectors, such as notaries, to competition from other member states.

It also makes it easier for employers to fire people, in a bid to make the rigid labour market more competitive.

As the economy is expected to grow by less than 0.5 percent for the third year running, Paris is under increased pressure from its European partners - notably Germany - and the EU commission to reform.

France has also failed to rein in its public deficit for five years.

Under EU rules, countries need to keep their public deficit below three percent of the country's GDP.

France has missed several deadlines and is now expected to deliver some structural reforms or face fines, after having been granted an extra three months until March to make good on its promises.

In an interview with the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung earlier this week, EU commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker i said that unlike its predecessor, the current commission "harshly criticised the budgetary policy of France, because they took insufficient measures".

But since the French government pledged in a letter to undertake reforms, Juncker was willing to give Paris three more months. "If words are not followed by actions, it will not get easy for the countries," he warned.