Sarkozy to roll out economic stimulus plan

[FastClown]

AFP - President Nicolas Sarkozy is Thursday to unveil a 20-billion-euro (26-billion-dollar) stimulus plan to shore up France's vital car and construction industries in a bid to stave off a looming recession.

France's contribution to a European-wide stimulus drive hoped to total 200 billion euros, the plan is expected to zero in on the crisis-hit auto sector, the second victim of the global economic downturn after the financial sector.

Sarkozy will use a visit to Douai in northern France, home to a major Renault car factory, to present details of the package.

Workers in the car industry and construction are already among the hardest hit by a recent spike in French jobless figures.

National auto champions Renault and Peugeot have announced thousands of job cuts as sales tumbled 14 percent in October, raising the alarm for a sector that employs some 2.5 million people in France.

The head of Renault-Nissan, Carlos Ghosn, warned Monday that countries face massive job losses unless they move quickly to bring financial assistance to their carmakers.

"There will be an action plan for the car sector," Employment Secretary Laurent Wauquiez said Wednesday. "The president is convinced that a great country that wants to preserve jobs cannot let its industries disappear."

Among key measures, car owners who scrap an old vehicle to buy a new one are expected to be offered a 1,000-euro bonus, in a bid to help shift unsold stocks of close to a million vehicles, media reports said.

[chithanh119]

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