Barnier, Michel

Subterms

    Latest story

    100 Shares149 Views

    France Struggles to Dry Out From Flash Flooding

    by

    Central and southern France was recovering on Friday from flooding that lashed the areas on Thursday, after heavy rainfall and swollen rivers unleashed torrents of brackish water that cut off roads, swept away cars and swamped buildings.The French authorities have not linked any deaths or injuries directly to the floods, which were slowly receding on Friday as towns mopped mud and water out of homes, hauled away overturned cars and cleared out tangles of tree branches and debris. But the sudden downpours — the worst in more than four decades in some areas — caught the country by surprise.Jean-Philippe Ksiazek/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesFirefighters wade through floodwaters on Thursday in Givors, a town in the Rhône department. More than 3,000 firefighters have been deployed to help, the government said on Friday.@CasaLova via Associated PressSome of the heaviest downpours were in the Ardèche department, which was battered by more than two feet of rain in 48 hours. Flash flooding swamped several towns, including Saint-Marcel-lès-Annonay, southwest of Lyon, where raging waters lifted a car away.BFMTV via ReutersRushing floodwaters also trapped vehicles in Labégude, another town in the Ardèche area, where Thursday’s rainfall “was the most intense ever recorded over two days since the beginning of the 20th century,” according to the national weather forecaster.Jeff Pachoud/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesIn Annonay, the largest town in the Ardèche, witnesses told local media that a “mini tsunami” surged through the town within minutes. Schools were evacuated and remained closed on Friday.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    More stories

    • 88 Shares99 Views

      in Elections

      Fitch Ratings Issues Warning About France’s Finances

      by

      A rating agency’s warning about the country’s ballooning debt comes as the prime minister tries to push an austerity budget through a divided Parliament.France has become one of the most financially troubled countries in Europe, with an outsize debt and deficit that are likely to keep ballooning despite efforts by a fragile new government to address the problem, the Fitch Ratings agency said on Friday.A day after France’s new prime minister, Michel Barnier, introduced a tough austerity budget aimed at mending the nation’s rapidly deteriorating finances, Fitch issued a negative outlook for France’s sovereign credit rating. The rating was left unchanged at an AA– level for now, but Fitch warned that it could be revised lower if the government’s budget plans fall apart.The outlook reflects greater financial risks that have swirled in France since President Emmanuel Macron dissolved the lower house of Parliament in June and took until last month to appoint a new government. The episode left Parliament deeply divided, split nearly evenly between warring political factions on the left, right and center, and leaving Mr. Barnier with no clear majority. That will make it harder to pass a belt-tightening budget and assuage nervous international investors at a time when France’s national debt has ballooned to more than 3 trillion euros ($3.28 trillion).In a statement late Friday after Fitch’s announcement, France’s economy minister, Antoine Armand, said the government was determined “to turn around the trajectory of public finances and control debt.”France is the second-largest economy among the 20 countries that use the euro currency, and as such, is considered too big to fail. European Union rules require members to have sound finances, including capping debt at 60 percent of economic output and not letting government spending exceed revenues by more than 3 percent.But France is now well in excess of both of those limits, drawing a formal rebuke recently from the European Union. France’s debt has spiraled to more than 110 percent of economic output, the worst in the bloc after Greece and Italy. Fitch warned that the debt could surge to more than 118 percent of gross domestic product by 2028 if nothing is done. The annual budget deficit is set to widen to 6.1 percent of gross domestic product this year, much higher than expected, and an increase of more than 10 percent from last year.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More