$10.8-Billion Program for the Elderly Proposed
French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin announced a $10.8-billion program for the elderly -- financed in part by eliminating a national holiday -- to improve health care and guard against catastrophes like the summer heat wave that killed nearly 15,000 people, many of them seniors.
It was estimated that the extra day’s work each year would increase national economic production by 0.3%. Companies would contribute 0.3% of the amount they pay in salaries to the elderly fund, Raffarin said. The program still requires parliamentary approval.
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