French trade minister forced to resign

Thomas Thevenoud, the new French trade minister, has been forced to resign over tax problems.

Thevenoud was only appointed last month in a cabinet reshuffle after a revolt over austerity measures threw the government into crisis.

A French government source said the socialist deputy stepped down after admitting he had a “problem about the declaration of his taxes,” adding that Thevenoud “has not resigned because of any political disagreement.”

The move is considered as yet another blow to embattled President Francois Hollande.

The president’s budget minister, Jérôme Cahuzac, was sacked in March 2013 after he was accused of evading tax using non-declared Swiss bank accounts.

The French government has also come under heavy criticism after the country’s Labour Minister Francois Rebsamen said job seekers need to be punished if they are found to be committing frauds by false jobless claims.

France, Europe’s second-biggest economy, is battling political and economic crises seen as the worst since Hollande took power more than two years ago.

On August 14, the French government slashed its growth forecasts for both the current and next year, saying it would miss its public deficit target in 2014 after data showed the economy delivered no growth for the first two quarters.

France’s austerity measures have put its citizens under more financial pressure than ever. Sales and retirement taxes have been raised, while massive cuts to social services have forced households to dip into their own pocket to cover for the government’s absence.

IA/MHB/SS