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France's Hollande announces tax, construction reforms

[August 20, 2014]  PARIS (Reuters) - French President Francois Hollande said on Wednesday he would take steps to boost homebuilding and help low-income households as he seeks to mollify voters angry with record-high unemployment and a stagnant economy.

The government had promised earlier this month to replace a 2.5 billion euro ($3.33 billion) plan to cut payroll tax for the lower paid which was struck down by the country's constitutional court.

In an interview with Le Monde, Hollande confirmed that the government would take measures representing a replacement tax break on a similar scale as part of the country's 2015 budget.

"Our goal is clear: modernize the economy by boosting competitiveness and helping investment as well as jobs," Hollande said in the interview.

He reiterated French calls for the European Union and its central bank to do more to boost growth through investments and weaken the euro, which he said was still overvalued.

(1 US dollar = 0.7517 euro)

(Reporting by Ingrid Melander; Editing by Andrew Callus)

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