France's prime minister says his government will lower taxes on gasoline to ease the pinch of rising prices on French households, according to AP. Jean-Marc Ayrault didn't provide details about the Socialist-led government's "unilateral" reduction, which he called small and temporary, or the potential impact on France's tight state budgets. The announcement during a BFM-TV interview Wednesday came as President Francois Hollande was to host his first Cabinet meeting after the traditional August holiday in France. Like many other European countries, the French government is facing concerns about a sluggish economy and debt-ridden state finances. Also Wednesday, Ayrault was to host a meeting of ministers on the issue of Roma, or Gypsies, in France after the government launched its latest campaign this month to drive them from their camps.
