Govt launches €4m ad blitz

The government has launched a four million euro advertising campaign to explain its reforms to boost French spending power amid claims it could backfire.

Opposition Socialist Party leader François Hollande said: “When you have nothing to say in politics, you do advertising.”

“The government must understand that it is not an advertising campaign that will make changes, it’s a change in politics,” he added.

The campaign appears in newspapers, television and the internet and runs until July 11.

It highlights government reforms including removing social security charges on overtime, reducing rent deposits to a maximum of one-month’s rent and removing taxes on student jobs.

Prime Minister François Fillon said: “What our citizens are asking their politicians is firstly, keep to your promises; that action and results meet with their concerns.

“It’s because of this that we are informing them of their rights – it is the thrust of this advertising campaign.”

In April, President Sarkozy admitted in a TV interview that the government had made errors in the presentation of its policies.

The head of the campaign Thierry Saussez said it highlighted measures that were useful to millions of workers in France.

Director of polling group Viavoice, François Miquet-Marty said the impact of the campaign would be limited if people did not feel any real change. He added that it was a high-risk campaign that could backfire.

“The government can say that it is doing a lot. If the French, who believe that their situation is deteriorating, do not feel any improvement, they will conclude that these efforts are not working, then this campaign is counter-productive.”

Photo: The government campaign.