THE French Prime Minister, Mr Lionel Jospin, last night defended the record of his month-old government in his first television appearance since he took office on June 3rd.
Although an opinion poll published this week gave Mr Jospin a two-thirds approval rating, he has been criticised by his Communist allies for endorsing the stability pact at the recent Amsterdam Summit and for accepting the shut down of the Renault factory at Vilvorde in Belgium.
His intention to use means-testing to limit government allowances for children caused an uproar, and in recent days Socialist officials frightened the markets by implying they may raise taxes on profit-making businesses.
Asked how he could reconcile his plans to promote employment and growth with the need to meet the Maastricht convergence criteria for EMU, Mr Jospin said: "We have a rendezvous with the single currency. We want to do it ... We are trying to define a path that takes account of contradictory requirements. If we had to choose (between Maastricht and domestic needs), I would present all the elements to the country and we would decide, based on what they want. We would not hide anything.
Mr Jospin claimed his "cohabitation" with President Jacques Chirac was proceeding smoothly. It was in the interest of France that they work together in a "serene and clear" manner. Although he was personally opposed to the stability pact, he had deferred to Mr Chirac's commitment to it at Amsterdam to avoid a crisis. For his part, Mr Chirac had supported Mr Jospin when he opened a debate on the co-ordination of employment policies in Europe. "Cohabitation" had efficiently dealt with the crisis in Africa, and the two men agreed on the position of France at next week's NATO summit in Madrid.
Mr Jospin noted that he had not promised to keep the Renault factory at Vilvorde open only to re-examine the case. This he had done, he said, obtaining better conditions for the workers.
The French government was a minority shareholder in Renault and it would not have been proper for him to interfere with a management decision.
Mr Jospin said he believed the French public had understood and supported his decision to cut child support to families with a monthly income of more than Pounds 2,941. Means-testing was a question of justice which would affect only a tiny minority of affluent families.
His government would work through the summer so that it could hold a conference on employment and begin creating jobs for young people in the autumn. An audit of public finances due to be published on July 21st is expected to report current deficit spending of around 3.5 per cent.
"We must fight deficit spending - regardless of our European commitments," he said. Any effort to reduce this would be "equitably shared". It would be understandable that "those who are better off" make the biggest sacrifice, he said, but he would not confirm earlier statements by his deputies that profitable companies would be charged higher taxes.
