New French cabinet cuts pay 30pc for president, ministers

PARIS: French leader Francois Hollande's new Socialist government ordered a 30 percent pay cut for the president and ministers as it held its first cabinet session on Thursday, several ministers said.

Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault earlier said the top item on the meeting's agenda would be the salary cut, a Hollande campaign promise that the premier said was about "setting an example" for France.

The move was aimed at drawing a clear distinction between Hollande and former president Nicolas Sarkozy, whose salary famously increased by 170 percent to 19,000 euros ($24,000) per month after he took office in 2007.

Hollande, who defeated right-winger Sarkozy in a May 6 vote, on Wednesday unveiled a government of mainly moderate Socialists and longtime allies.

The new line-up met a promise to appoint an equal number of men and women in Hollande's cabinet, a first for France, although most of the senior posts went to men.

It is also a cabinet with little experience -- only five of its 34 members have served previously in government and seven are under the age of 40. (AFP)