The French government has announced a package of austerity measures it says will save around $138bn (100 billion euros) as part of plans to eliminate the country’s budget deficit by 2016.
Officials said the plan, announced on Monday, would save about $9.6bn in 2012, followed by savings of about $16bn in 2013 as France seeks to protect its AAA credit rating and avoid the financial market pressure engulfing other major eurozone economies such as Italy and Greece.
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