PARIS (AP) — France's budget minister, ensnared in a ballooning scandal over suspected tax fraud and money laundering, on Tuesday became the first resignation in President Francois Hollande's 10-month-old Socialist government.
Jerome Cahuzac, who had garnered Hollande's trust as point man to help boost tax revenues as France battles a lackluster economy and swelling budget deficit, asked to be removed from his post — and the president accepted, according to a statement from Hollande's office.
Earlier Tuesday, Paris prosecutors opened a judicial probe into a case of alleged laundering of money gained through tax fraud centering on Cahuzac — though investigators haven't turned up enough evidence to charge him by name.
The budget minister post is one of the most onerous government jobs in France at the moment, as the Socialist leadership battles to cut spending and raise new tax revenues to avoid the type of fiscal and debt pressures that caused major problems for fellow European Union members such as Spain, Greece and Italy — and rattled currency markets over the fate of the euro.
Jerome Cahuzac, who had garnered Hollande's trust as point man to help boost tax revenues as France battles a lackluster economy and swelling budget deficit, asked to be removed from his post — and the president accepted, according to a statement from Hollande's office.
Earlier Tuesday, Paris prosecutors opened a judicial probe into a case of alleged laundering of money gained through tax fraud centering on Cahuzac — though investigators haven't turned up enough evidence to charge him by name.
The budget minister post is one of the most onerous government jobs in France at the moment, as the Socialist leadership battles to cut spending and raise new tax revenues to avoid the type of fiscal and debt pressures that caused major problems for fellow European Union members such as Spain, Greece and Italy — and rattled currency markets over the fate of the euro.
 |
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.sfgate.com |