Hollande vows to fight French pessimism and return the country to growth

The French President, François Hollande, said he will fight against the sense of pessimism that has characterised France, promising once again to restore growth and cut record unemployment.

François Hollande during the televised interview in the Elysée Palace gardens. Reuters/Philippe Wojazer

In a televised interview broadcast on Bastille Day, Hollande said France has “for years” been characterised by pessimism, which he said was worse in France than in neighbouring countries.

The President, with the lowest approval rating of any French head of state in history, said there is some good news about France’s weak economy.

"The economic recovery is here," he said, adding that industrial production had picked up and there had been a slight recovery in consumption.

France's economy entered a recession in the first quarter of this year but is forecast to return to growth in the second quarter with 0.2 percent of growth predicted.

"There is a recovery in industrial production," Hollande said, after it grew by one percent in March-April.

Hollande also repeated his promise to reverse the rise in unemployment by the end of the year, after the number of jobless in France hit a record 3.26 million. He reiterated a promise to create 100,000 jobs for young people by the end of the year.

With France struggling to get its public deficit under control, Hollande could not rule out tax increases to help balance the budget.

"We will make, we have made, savings (in spending) and I will increase taxes only if absolutely necessary, ideally as little as possible," he said.

He also said France would push ahead with controversial pension reforms expected in the autumn, which have already led to calls from unions for general strikes.

"Everyone will be called on to make efforts," he said, repeating that the number of working years required to receive full pension payments will probably increase.

He said "immediate measures" were needed to overhaul France's state pension system, which is forecast to fall more than 20 billion euros into the red by 2020.

Hollande also promised more investment in France’s ageing rail network after Friday’s deadly train derailment at Brétigny-sur-Orge, south of Paris.