Socialists win parliamentary majority in FranceJune 18, 2012 - 08:51 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - French President Francois Hollande's Socialists won a resounding parliamentary majority on Sunday, strengthening his hand as he presses euro zone paymaster Germany to support debt-laden states weighed down by austerity cuts and ailing banks, Reuters reported. The Socialist Party and its affiliates secured 307 seats in the parliamentary election runoff, according to the final count for mainland France, comfortably more than the 289 needed for a majority in the 577-seat National Assembly. The left-wing triumph means Hollande, elected in May, won't need to rely on the environmentalist Greens, who won 16 seats, or the Communist-dominated Left Front, with 10 deputies, to pass laws. The centre-left already controls the upper house of parliament, the Senate. "This gives power and a backbone to the government," said Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici, calling the result a vote of confidence in Hollande's government that would enable it to forge ahead with its economic and euro zone policies. "Europe's future is at stake in the weeks ahead," he said. The mainstream conservatives, who oppose Hollande's plans to raise taxes on the rich, won 224 seats. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Yeremyan Projects opens state-of-the-art dairy production plant Yeremyan Projects officially launched the Yeremyan Products state-of-the-art milk processing plant in Yerevan on May 24. Armenian PM’s helicopter makes emergency landing in Vanadzor The helicopter transporting Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan made an emergency landing in Vanadzor. Lavrov says envoys “periodically” summoned for consultations Sergei Lavrov has commented Moscow’s summoning of Russian Ambassador to Armenia Sergei Kopyrkin. Russian Ambassador to Armenia summoned to Moscow for consultations Russian Ambassador to Armenia Sergei Kopyrkin has been summoned to Moscow for consultations. |