Hollande says French economy is recovering

(MENAFN- Arab News) President Francois Hollande vowed Sunday to fight French "pessimism" in the face of a struggling economy, and acknowledged that the country's rail network needed better maintenance, after a deadly derailment. In an interview with leading television channels to mark Bastille Day, Hollande insisted the recovery had already started. France entered recession this year and has a record-high 3.26 million unemployed. Deeply unpopular Hollande defended his first 14 months in office and, as polls show deep gloom among the French, said his goal was to give "new confidence" to the country. "For years we have been the most pessimistic country in Europe, in the world even," he told interviewers. "There are countries at war that are more optimistic than we are." Hollande was speaking after attending the traditional Bastille Day military parade on the Champs Elysees. But this year's holiday was overshadowed by Friday's rail accident on a regional line near Paris, which claimed six lives. Hollande promised to make upgrading outdated lines a priority. "We must do much more to maintain traditional lines, existing lines," Hollande said. Opinion polls show the economy and jobs are the country's top concerns, although Hollande said France was already through the worst of its economic troubles. "The economic recovery is here," he said, pointing to a pick-up in industrial production and a modest recovery in consumption. But with France struggling to get its deficit under control, the president said he 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. Hollande re-affirmed 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. "I am fighting" for jobs, Hollande said. "There is the will, there is a strategy," he said, promising 100,000 jobs for youth by the end of the year. France would push ahead with controversial pension reforms expected in the autumn, he said. The plans 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 would likely increase. Hollande also vowed to maintain a French ban on the controversial practice of fracking for shale gas, which he said presented too many environmental risks. "As long as I am president, there were will be no exploration for shale gas," Hollande said. In a nod to efforts to cut government spending, the budget for this year's parade was cut by 10-15 percent.