France's jobless rate fell below 9 per cent last month for the first time in more than four years, government data showed Wednesday according to dpa. Unemployment stood at 8.9 per cent in July with 2.16 million people out of work, a level last reached in March 2002, the National Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE) said. The jobless rate was 9.0 per cent in June. With eight months until France's next presidential election, President Jacques Chirac has focused on lowering the nation's unemployment. He has said he would like to bring the unemployment rate below 8 per cent by next summer. Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin has said he would like to lower the number of unemployed to under 2 million by early 2007.
