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No more steroids for French consumption! With the end of the scrapping, household spending fell 1.8% in volume, after falling 1% in March, according to figures released Tuesday by the INSEE. Only the food consumption and "other manufactured goods" rose over the month, respectively +0.8% and +0.2%.

"It was difficult indeed to hope that consumption could continue to climb even though inflation is now growing faster than household incomes. In other words, the purchasing power probably will fit down in the second quarter, "said Alexander Law, chief economist at the firm Xerfi.

The decline in consumption is largely explained by the sharp decline in automobile purchases, who drop by 10.2% over the month, after falling 2.1% in March.No doubt for INSEE, this is the "repercussions of the abolition of the scrapping on 1 January 2011". Statistics from the automotive industry in April, released in early May, already left us to expect a jolt, recording a drop of 11.2% of sales in France.

Moreover, the French fell 0.5% spending on equipment housing in April. This figure follows a 17% drop in sales of new homes in the first quarter. Households also spent less in clothing stores (-0.5% on the month).

Energy costs are on the other hand fell 3.2% in April. "The decline is mainly due to climatic conditions rather soft in April, compared to seasonal norms, which have restricted the use of heating fuels," INSEE analysis.An effect that would have cleared the explosion of the fuel budget of households fund soaring pump prices.

Unsurprisingly, Georges Tron, accused of sexual assault by two former employees, resigned Sunday as Secretary of State for Public Service, announced earlier this afternoon in a statement the Prime Minister François Fillon who said "take note" of this decision. According to the Elysee is Baroin, minister of Budget and Appropriate Minister Georges Tron, who resumes his duties.

This departure is not a surprise. In the morning, Le Journal du Dimanche had reported that the resignation of Secretary of State would intervene in the day. According to the weekly, the decision was taken Saturday.It is François Fillon person who would be responsible for prescribing the manner of his departure.

He defends himself in his letter of resignation

"As a private citizen, I will make a personal matter to recognize my innocence while fighting the charges of vindictive two former employees, one was fired for embezzling public funds entrusted to him and the other resigned because of conduct unbecoming, "said Georges Tron in his resignation letter that was provided Lexpress.fr.

"Anyway, the press campaign that they have caused – before any intervention of the judiciary – has received such coverage in the media, that our citizens can consider myself as guilty before my rights have been begin to be implemented: think, Mr. President of the Republic, I have not even informed me that the complaint is, the procedure does not provide (presumably because it does not the public trial that I did), "said the now former Secretary of State for Public Service.

Alain Juppe pushes him towards the exit

In the columns of Le Parisien on Saturday, Georges Tron still seemed to want to believe. "I do not want to be annoying," he noted, while ensuring they do not feel "under siege". "I am extraordinarily serene," he explained in everyday life payday advance.Saturday afternoon, his lawyer indicated he would resign if the Head of State or Prime Minister asking him.

But on Sunday, the deal seemed to have changed. Alain Juppe including implicitly invited the secretary of state to resign, saying the government members must be "above reproach". "For now, he is presumed innocent," said Minister of Foreign Affairs on Canal +. "The rest is a matter of personal ethics. I have no lessons to give, but there are moments where he must learn to take responsibility themselves, "he said.

Secretary of State for Public Service is currently the target of complaints from two former employees of Municipal Common Draveil (Essonne), where he is mayor. The prosecution of Evry has given the police a preliminary investigation for sexual assault and rape.The two women have long been heard Thursday by the investigators, who have provided a list of witnesses, mostly city employees, may corroborate their versions.

A third complainant?

Sunday, JDD reveals that a third alleged victim would have emerged and should be heard in the week by investigators. He is a commissioner Draveil moved "on demand" by Georges Tron earlier this year. If we do not know yet the details of this story, a union officer told the weekly that the Secretary of State "was hard on her (the woman) for months. (…) I do not know exactly what happened between them, but I know she has lived all this very badly, "he said.

The lawyer Georges Tron, Mr. Olivier Schnerb, denounced Sunday the "media manipulation which has been subjected.""It is presented in the media as a culprit condemned already" while his two accusers' delight to show on television, "he said. "The defense of Georges Tron has not yet begun.

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Zinedine Zidane, Catherine Deneuve, Michael Jordan and Madonna have their BoConcept furniture, as more and more French. "In a furniture market growing 2.7% last year, BoConcept has managed to grow its sales by 21% to 48 million euros," said Tim Machenaud, France Director of the sign. The French branch has experienced the strongest growth (LFL) of the 55 countries where the Danish group, born in 1952, is present.

BoConcept has yet installed almost by accident in France in 1993. "We were mainly found in Scandinavia as wholesalers," recalls Viggo Mølholm, Group CEO and son of one of the two founders. With the first store in Belle Thorn (Val-de-Marne) open on the board of a student in marketing, furniture manufacturer – which had Ikea and Fly among its clients – embarks distribution.Eighteen years later, BoConcept France became the largest contributor (21%) on sales of the company listed in Copenhagen, far ahead of Germany (13%), United States (10%) and Spain (6%).

"Finding the right balance"

"In the coming years I am convinced that we can continue to grow at an annual rate of 20% in France, among others through the next opening," said the CEO, which lists some points to improve to get there. The average basket of 1050 euros, not high enough, focused attention. "After working for more upscale, we've got a good price positioning," J. Viggo Mølholm. "The challenge of the mid-range segment lies in the fact that we do not have large volumes of low-end and we were not comfortable margins of the high end.It is difficult to find the right balance, which explains the lack of competitors in this segment, "said Tim Machenaud.

BoConcept does not cover the kitchen or the bathroom or the children's room and do not wish to extend its range to other universes. He wishes to deepen the other hand, since this year by offering two collections a year. But also by pushing even further personalization of its furniture design (choice of fabrics, materials and colors), still mostly made near the historic headquarters in Herning, Denmark.

After putting its expansion project in brackets last year, BoConcept expects to create between three and six stores this year in France. "Since 2005, our network has been considerably expanded from seven to 31 stores. We want to reach fifty in the medium term, "France says the director, who admits to not being pressed."I prefer to wait to find the right franchise, good location and good town," he says, noting the target areas with at least 250,000 inhabitants.

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All real estate transactions involve the payment of notary fees. The note, which is completing the acquisition process where the buyer is usually borrow more or less important to his bank, still seems a bit expensive … especially if one confuses notary fees, and fees. Fees, expenses, registration fees … Mazodier Carolina, a journalist with the monthly individual, decrypts the invoice.

The player has to use default in the articles of figaro.fr. maj1

Introduced in 1992, the French legislation on sexual harassment tends to approach similar laws across the Atlantic. U.S. law prohibits "harassing a person (employee or job applicant) because of her sex." Based on equity of all citizens before the law, it seeks to protect the rights of all segments of society, in order to defend the weakest minorities.

In the French Penal Code, the definition of harassment has been expanded to "any order, threat or coercion in order to obtain favors of a sexual nature." Civil law and criminal law French, however, saw a case of harassment differently. Before the Labour Court, just as the employee establishes the reality of harassment to the accused is compelled to defend his behavior.But at a hearing before the criminal court is the accuser who must provide evidence of guilt. This is where the difficulty lies in proving a case of harassment in France. In most cases the harassment does not leave visible traces, and it is difficult for victims to prove the guilt of the perpetrator.

The legal provisions on sexual harassment in France and the United States also has a very large difference in the amount of damages. "The French courts are less generous than their U.S. counterparts," says Peter Jung, a lawyer with Cohen Amir-Aslani Ngo & Associates. "The American concept of punitive damages to punish a fault, does not exist in France where the damages are only intended to repair an injury suffered by a victim.Legal action in France is not a gamble, as it may be in the Anglo-Saxon. "

A question of manners

Why sexual harassment cases when they have an echo as important to U.S.? Martine Bouccara, lawyer with Cohen Amir-Aslani Ngo & Associates, is a matter of criminal policy, more or less on certain crimes and misdemeanors. "In terms of gravity, the prosecuting authority (the prosecutor) does not act the same way on different elements of public policy. That is his right because he was also elected on a platform. United States, it is the sexual offenses that hold the attention of prosecutors, because the fact of Puritanism, there is an exacerbation of sensitivity around this issue. "

For sociologists, this exacerbation have been linked to the American concept of privacy (privacy), which is much larger in the U.S. compared to France.It includes not only everything about a person but also what that person is able to control. "Tell me who you are in private life, and I'll tell you who you are in public life," summarizes Virginia Martin, a sociologist and research professor at Euromed Management. Thus, when a boss is convicted of harassment by the U.S. justice system, the message perceived by society is that it is unable to control a large company because it has no self control itself. "An American will feel more easily knocked in his privacy than French. And when his "protection zone" can be more easily reached, the scope of prevention is broader, "the lawyer Martine Bouccara analysis.

But according to Eric Albert, president of the firm IFAS, this trend is often taken to extremes."Even jokes on the topic of sex are sometimes criticized. Some people complaining of sexual harassment have no idea what it is. However, it is a very serious act that has great psychological impact on victims. "

The lawyer Peter Jung finds in recent years the "legalization" of French society in terms of sexual harassment. "In the U.S., relations between people in the world of work are fairly complicated and even codified. The rules of behavior that society demands can affect the spontaneity of relationships. But it is undoubtedly the price to pay to eliminate discriminatory behavior. In France, there is a growing number of lawsuits to try to punish inappropriate behavior. Our country takes its cue from the U.S. in this regard, but it remains very far from him look like.A remark or sexist behavior is unfortunately often perceived as a sign of virility. "

The revolution of mentalities in France is not about to happen, say the lawyers. But in our society, the facts of harassment have long been denied and suppressed by the companies. That is why today we are witnessing a rather violent denunciation of these facts.

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While the rating agency Fitch on Friday downgraded the rating of long-term debt of Greece, and the French minister Christine Lagarde asked Athens to take further fiscal austerity measures, the German finance minister speaks the ability to offer additional assistance to Greece.

In an interview published Sunday by the newspaper Bild am Sonntag, Wolfgang Schäuble believes that steps could be taken for the country if his efforts fail to reduce its debt. This additional support "is only conceivable if it is confirmed that the private creditors such as banks, do not opt ​​out of Greece, leaving European taxpayers to take full responsibility," said the German minister nonetheless. He believes that the creditor countries of Greece must first ensure that Athens is able to overcome its economic difficulties."Only in this case we could, if necessary, discuss an extension (the maturity) bonds that Greece should pay next year," says he.

The inspection visit, arriving in early to ensure that Athens respects the conditions attached to the bailout 110 billion made in the country, had to extend his stay. Officials hope it will make its findings next week but no date has been set. Wolfgang Schäuble also said that the decision to give an additional boost will require the approval of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and especially that of centrel Bank (ECB).On Friday, the IMF has in effect called the euro area to urgently adopt a more comprehensive range of measures to resolve the debt crisis, but some resistance has emerged towards the ECB.

'Soft' restructuring

George Papandreou, the Greek Minister Pemi must submit on Monday a multi-year plan with new measures to strengthen the fiscal consolidation of the country payday loans lenders. He hopes to escape the restructuring of the enormous debt that he does not want to hear aujoud'hui, but that markets demand. Unlike the ECB, they are convinced that Athens can not solve its problems by merely the emergency loan of 110 billion euros already granted by euro zone countries and the IMF. Despite a big effort to reduce the deficit last year (five points of GDP), Greece is indeed still in a critical budget situation.

The leader of the finance ministers of the eurozone, Jean-Claude Juncker, is the promoter for this week of a 'soft' restructuring through debt rescheduling. He pleaded over the weekend for the creation of an independent umbrella of the Greek government's privatization program in the country. Athens has planned about 50 billion euros from privatizations in 2015, whose income must be allocated to debt reduction. This option is opposed by the European Central Bank (ECB), fearing that the outright failure of Greek banks, and chain reactions throughout Europe.Dominique Strauss-Kahn, former head of the IMF, was also on the same line.

Determined to "save" his country that he says can work it through his own efforts, George Papandreou is due to visit Paris this week, Tuesday and meet with key political leaders of his country to reach a consensus on measures to be taken to cope with the crisis. This agreement required by the countries of the euro area, however, looks difficult to obtain, the prime minister faced with a sling, even within his own party.

(With agencies)

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Successful gamble for LinkedIn. The social network dedicated professionals has made a sensational debut on the Stock Exchange on Wall Street Thursday. From the first minutes of listing, the title flew more than 140% to almost 110 dollars. Well above the 45 dollars from his introduction. About 20 hours in Paris, the title continued its surge, climbing 131.31% to 104.11 dollars.

Prelude to this success, LinkedIn had managed to place on Wednesday of 7.84 million shares at $ 45 each, which allowed him to raise $ 352.8 million (248 million euros). Smelling potential, the group had over the day boosted its IPO price of departure.There's another week, it was within a range between 32 and 35 dollars.

According to observers, the success of this initial public offering (IPO) is even more important that the group posted mixed financial performance with net profit after minority interests of $ 3.4 million in 2010, after a loss 4 million dollars last year. Today, this surge in the value to nearly $ 9 billion.

Meanwhile Facebook

This IPO is considered the U.S. as the largest since Google's in 2004. It occurs in a context of market enthusiasm for social networks. Secondary markets, securities linked to this sector are the subject of desire.A recent placement of shares thereby enhances the Twitter micro-blogging site to 7.7 billion dollars (5.5 billion euros), twice more than the recovery underpinned by a previous fundraiser in December . Similarly, an investment fund, which plans to buy a block of 2.5 million shares to company employees, should take the valuation of Facebook up to 65 billion. The introduction of Facebook is also announced for 2012. Other highly anticipated IPOs are like Zynga or Groupon.

Meanwhile, markets are flocking to the first offer is available, namely LinkedIn. The excitement is such that many observers believe that a bubble is being formed in this sector, on how the 1990s. "You have to see what other companies will do. And also what will happen to LinkedIn. There is only one day.You could say this is the beginning of a stage, which will take place over a year or two, "cautions Bill Buhr, however, of Morningstar.

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AREVA will be able to breathe. His former ally Siemens will pay him $ 648 million plus interest by a fortnight, following the breakdown of an agreement between the two groups. Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has in effect made public last night the penalty imposed by the German group for a case that began in March 2009.

Two years ago, Siemens has decided to withdraw from their joint venture Areva NP owned 34%, after failing to take a larger share. The German group did not then expected to reach an agreement with Areva output to form a new alliance with Russia's Rosatom nuclear.

Siemens has thus not met the terms of predetermined separation between the two groups. The French decided to launch an arbitration against Siemens, liable to a penalty of 40% of the value of the shareholding of Areva NP.

The ITC has agreed with Areva and Siemens believes that has broken the pact of shareholders. The German group scoop the maximum penalty, a penalty of 40% of the value of its stake in Areva NP. The 34% share capital of Siemens Areva NP was valued 1.6 billion euros in March, when Areva took over Siemens' share in Areva NP.

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Will you attend the fifth meeting bearish for the Cac 40 this Wednesday? On Tuesday, the Paris Stock Exchange closed sharply down by 1.21%. In the past four sessions, the Cac 40 lost nearly 3%.

Meanwhile, the stock index opens up 0.89% to 3976.79 points. This morning, the Tokyo Stock Exchange edged up despite the resurgence of the yen and Tuesday evening U.S. stock markets have ended in a disorganized manner.

On the macroeconomic front, the number of start-ups in April fell 18.3% to 42,984 compared to March, according to figures from INSEE.

United States, pending the release of Fed minutes to 20 hours per week are expected stocks of crude oil (16.30).

Euro and oil bounce

On the currency markets, the euro continued its momentum by winning yet 0.18% against the greenback at 1.4262 dollar.

For their part, oil prices rose 0.90% to 97.78 dollars, but worries about demand in the U.S. will limit gains, dealers said.

PSA Peugeot Citroën strengthens its presence in Asia

France Telecom expects further consolidation operations or cooperation in selected markets in telecoms, driven by growing investment needs, "said Director of the French group's mobile activities.

Unibail-Rodamco has announced that the Chamber of Commerce of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal had ruled on the purchase price of 660,562 Rodamco Europe NV shares still held by minority shareholders. It has priced shares in Rodamco Europe 87.66 euros per share.Unibail-Rodamco will own 100% of Rodamco Europe following the decision.

Areva and the Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique (CEA) announced the successful takeover offer simplified investment certificates (IC) cons of Areva shares. This will help convert the entire ordinary share capital. The listing of CI will be suspended from May 24

PSA Peugeot-Citroen on Wednesday the foundation stone laying of its third factory in China, according to La Tribune. Like the other two located in Wuhan, central China, the new plant should be able to start in 2013.Initially the plant will produce 150,000 vehicles and 300,000 from 2015.

Technip won a contract from BASF under the Partnership and engineering services for projects of chemistry and petrochemistry.

Atari has announced its decision to sell Cryptic Studios, the development studio acquired videogames there is barely two and half years.

Qatar Luxury Group has repurchased nearly 53% of the leather goods Tanner to 6.51 euros per share and will file a tender offer to purchase the rest at the same price in the days to come, said Tuesday the two entities.

After market, Soitec publish its annual results.

The U.S. stock market should open down on Monday. Futures on Standard & Poor's 500 and Nasdaq 100 respectively retreating from 1.47% to 1327.70 points and 2365.50 points to 1.72%. The uncertainties surrounding the Greek debt reinforced by the arrest of the director of the IMF are likely to weigh on the financial sector américain.L arrest of Dominique Strauss-Kahn shook European stock markets this morning, including the CAC 40.

On Friday, Wall Street has closed down already pulled down by the financial sector and producers of raw materials. The Dow Jones lost 0.79% at 12,596 points, the Nasdaq 1.21% to 2828 points and the Standard & Poor's 500 fell 0.81% to 1337 points.Falling commodity prices, oil and metals in the lead, led a growing number of investors to stay away compartments riskier equity markets.

On the currency markets, the euro against the dollar on Monday, but remained under pressure ahead of a meeting of finance ministers of the euro area. About 11:00 am in Paris, the European single currency was worth 1.4121 dollars against 1.4108 dollars on Friday night.

On the macroeconomic front, the United States, include the program of industrial activity in the area of ​​New York (1430) as well as flows of capital invested in the long term in March (15 hours).

The side of values, the earnings season coming to an end the United States. The markets expect a few more quarterly performances.This week will mark the publications of U.S. companies in retail, including Lowe's, today, Home Depot and Wal-Mart tomorrow and Stables and Target on Wednesday instant payday loan. These companies bear a heavy pressure on their margins and could provide indications about the strength of consumption in the current quarter. In terms of technology stocks, Dell (Tuesday), HP (Wednesday) and Autodesk (Thursday) will also publish their quarterly results.

The approximately $ 9 billion of shares in the U.S. insurer AIG held by the Treasury receive a good reception from investors and the government could reap a profit, said Sunday the Wall Street Journal.According to the website of business daily, citing sources familiar with the matter, the banks responsible for the sale of shares in AIG nationalized 92% were "signs of interest in about half of the Offer ".

The oil giants BP and Rosneft, which is listed on Wall Street, leading to final negotiations on Monday, the deadline to materialize, despite a legal mess, their strategic alliance to exploit huge reserves of oil in the Arctic.

For his part, Honeywell announced an extension of its contract with China's air transport AST.

U.S. authorities have approved the drug Victrelis, a new drug used to treat hepatitis C. Merck.

Wells Fargo seeking to divest its brokerage subsidiary and tax advisory HDVest, whose value is estimated at over $ 200 million according to Bloomberg.

Yahoo, Alibaba Group and Softbank Corp. announced that he "engaged in constructive negotiations to resolve issues relating to the sale of Alipay soon as possible and in the interest of shareholders. "