In an effort to stem the internal strife that may have led to France voting down the EU constitution, new Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin has laid out plans for a ?4.5 billion job creation plan. The new prime minister said his first mission is to cut the 10 percent jobless rate that has chipped away at French confidence and bred suffering and "anger." However, opposition politicans and unions have bitterly criticized his measures, with some holding that the government will not last.
See "Villepin unveils plan to cut jobless rate", Associated Press, International Herald Tribune, June 7, 2005