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Top French trade unions meet with government as protests mount

Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault is meeting with leading French trade unions today to discuss proposed reforms to the tax system that would be debated in the National Assembly next summer.

Francois Hollande and Jean-Marc Ayrault at the Elysee Palace in Paris
Francois Hollande and Jean-Marc Ayrault at the Elysee Palace in Paris REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer
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President François Hollande came to power promising to reform the tax system, but has been met with staunch opposition.

The Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici insisted the reforms to the tax system were necessary in an interview with RFI yesterday, adding that they were aimed at increasing “stability, readability, and predictability.”

“I want to remind everyone that we have already put a lot of tax reforms into place successfully since we’ve been in power," said Moscovici to RFI. "So this round of meetings is not a turning point, it’s an enlargement.”

The Constitutional Court earlier this year scrapped a tax aimed at the super-rich, and a controversial eco-tax on heavy goods vehicles has had its 1 January, 2014 start delayed following heavy protests.

Angry horse-riders also took to the streets yesterday in Paris to kick back against a proposed tax on equestrian centres that could lead to job losses and 80,000 horses slaughtered.

Hollande's popularity has plummeted to levels not seen since 1958, according to opinion polls, with pressure from Brussles to rein in on the country's public deficit and widespread anger over high taxes driving the revolt. 

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