-Mario Draghi, ECB President
The number of unemployed in France hit a record high in March, following a timid drop in the beginning of the year and fuelling fears of more problems in the country. Ironically, the data underlined inability of France's President Francois Hollande, who made reducing the unemployment level his top priority before elections in 2017, to revive the job market. The Hollande government stepped up measures to sponsor jobs for young people, tax relieves for employers to encourage recruitment as well as an incentive programme for young adults taking low paid jobs. Yet, the number of unemployed rose 0.4% last month to 3,509,800. French Premier Manuel Valls expected a major drop in unemployment to occur if France's GDP reaches around 1.5%, a level that he expects to be hit as soon as this year.
Meanwhile, in another troubled Euro zone country, Greece, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said he was confident the debt deal with international creditors will be reached within two weeks after reshuffling his negotiating team and dismissing Yanis Varoufakis, Greece's Finance Minister, who infuriated Euro zone officials last week in Riga. Tsipras said he expected a deal with creditors by May 9, three days before a debt payment to the IMF of about 750 million euros falls due. He ruled out a possibility of a default but highlighted the priority was to pay wages and pensions.
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