Montebourg out of new cabinet

Outgoing Economy Minister Arnaud Montebourg told reporters in Paris on Monday that he wanted no part of a new cabinet being formed by Prime Minister Manuel Valls, who resigned along with his cabinet earlier in the day.

However, Montebourg's statement didn't make it completely clear whether the decision that he would not be part of the new cabinet was his, or that of the prime minister - or even mutual.

"I indicated to the prime minister this afternoon that if he believed me to be mistaken, if he believed that my convictions were contrary to the direction of the government that he leads - in this case, I believed it necessary to take back my freedom in the same way he accepted to give it to me," Montebourg said.

The former economy minister also took the opportunity to slam austerity policies which he said had "extended" France's current economic woes.

"The policies of cutting deficits end up not reducing deficits and for this reason are a financial absurdity because, by restricting growth, they prevent their own goals from being achieved," he said, essentially repeating criticism he had voiced over the past few days, which put him on a collision course with Prime Minister Valls and President Francois Hollande.

President Hollande asked Valls to form a new cabinet after he and his government stepped down earlier on Monday.

Staying the course

A statement released by the Elysee Palace to announce the move indicated that the president was determined to ensure that the new government stay the course on an economic program dubbed the "Responsibility Pact."

"The head of state asked him (Valls) to form a team consistent with the direction he has himself set for the country," a statement released by the Elysee Palace said.

Valls subsequently met with members of his old cabinet, as he sought to put a new government in place by Tuesday.

France is struggling with around 10-percent unemployment, and economic growth has been virtually non-existent for the past six months, with the government having revised its growth forecast downwards to 0.5 percent for this year.

The Responsibility Pact, Hollande's plan to spur growth, is a program that offers private businesses 40 billion euros ($55 billion) in tax breaks in return for a pledge from industry to create half a million jobs over a period of three years.

What has angered politicians on the left wing of the president's Socialists, such as Montebourg, is that Hollande plans to finance the program through 50 billion euros in spending cuts.

pfd/tj (AP, Reuters, AFP)