France announces austerity plan as growth slows

PARIS: France unveiled a huge deficit cutting package Wednesday cutting a billion euros in spending this year, 11 billion the next, raising taxes on the rich and closing some tax loopholes.

Prime Minister Francois Fillon revised the government's growth forecast for 2011 downwards to 1.75 percent from 2.0 percent, but said the measures would trim next year's public deficit to 4.5 percent of GDP.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011