Thursday, May 17, the new socialist government of France began their work to lower their wages by 30%. This was part of the plan, providing for a more careful use of government money.

The government approved lowering wages on the very first meeting. It is worth noting that it happened on the next day after the government of Germany increased the wages of their ministers. Now the wage of the Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel is higher than the wage of the new President of France Francois Hollande, BBC reports.

According to political supervisors, doing so Hollande wants to distance himself from his predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy, whose wage, during 2007, increased, reaching 300 000 dollars (159 000 LVL).

The decision concerning minister wages is effective immediately. The government’s announcement makes mention that from now on, ministers will receive 9 940 EUR (6 985 LVL) per month, instead of 14 200 EUR (9 979 LVL). The wages of President Hollande and Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault will be decreased from 21 300 EUR (14 969 LVL) tp 14 910 EUR (10 478 LVL).

The new government also stated that it will do everything in its power to decrease state debt and lead the state economy out of the crisis.

It is worth noting that the proportion of men and women in the new government is equal. By providing this opportunity, Holland kept one of his pre-election promise concerning women’s rights.

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