French president Francois Hollande (pictured) has promised to “redefine” the country’s economic model in an effort to conquer the unemployment crisis.
He admitted that France is in “a state of economic and social emergency” as the country has seen its 10.6% rate reach an 18-year high.
The reforms needed to combat the problem will be underpinned by more than €2 billion.
His proposals include deregulation and financial payouts aimed at encouraging businesses to hire new staff and training schemes for half a million low-skilled workers, with a special focus on growth sectors such as digital and environment.
“France needs to improve training and education and the level of skills of its workforce,” Mr Hollande said.
Unusually for a politician, the president claimed the €2 billion needed will come from savings rather than any new tax.
The country’s sluggish economy, the second largest in the eurozone, has been recording growth barely over 1% a year, insufficient to foster new jobs.
Some 600,000 more people have become out of work since Mr Hollande was elected, bringing the total to 3.6 million.
He appears to be tying his reputation now on reducing that number and said he would not stand for re-election in 2017 if unemployment did not come down in time.
But the sacrosanct 35-hour work week will not be “put into question”.
