Word: france
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...Abbot of Bazinham once computed that in the first thousand years after Charlemagne, French currency was devalued 40 times. In the 19th century, the gold franc was such a rock that the currencies of half Europe were pegged to it. Lately, though officially pegged since 1949 at 350 to the dollar, the franc has fallen almost as often as French governments. Last week at long last the French government took notice of the franc's real worth and, without using the horrid word devaluation, in fact devalued...
...brought it off was the brilliant young (37) technocrat Finance Minister Félix Gaillard, who made it clear that either France would live closer to its means or that he would quit. He first demanded that his fellow ministers slash 600 billion francs ($1.7 billion) from their next year's spending plans (TIME, Aug. 12). The Defense Minister spoke reassuringly of sticking "to my best estimates." Retorted Gaillard: "I cannot accept any estimates, I need guarantees." Sighed the Labor Minister: "He must settle-this crisis at any cost. If we allow Félix Gaillard to walk...
...phony cost-of-living index, artfully manipulated to conceal the inflationary upcreep, has finally burst through its ceiling, setting off an automatic 5.5% minimum wage rise for 800,000 employees. With every allowance for crop failures, the cost of Suez and the price of Algeria's billion-franc-a-day war, said Gaillard, France's "fundamental" trouble is that "for several years our internal consumption has been rising more rapidly than our production...
Gaillard urged a 5% tax boost on "unessential goods," from furs and motorcycles to radios and yachts. He wanted a reduction in state subsidies, which would probably result in a 10% rise in rail and subway fares and gas bills. And he demanded a 600 billion-franc ($1.7 billion) slash in government spending. "These measures may look severe to you," concluded Gaillard, "but they are barely sufficient." Even with these measures Gaillard was budgeting for a $2.3 billion deficit this year...
SLUMPING FRENCH FRANC is selling at 415 to $1 (v. official rate of 350) on Manhattan's free market. Tourists can take all the francs they want into France...