French lawmakers are drafting a bill to shore-up household buying power by raising some forms of government assistance by 4 per cent, at a cost of €8 billion (US$8.44 billion) from July to April next year, business daily Les Echos reported on Sunday (Jun 26). According to the report, the planned increases would apply to welfare benefits for families, unemployed workers and disabled people as well as pension payouts, effective in July. Housing allowances, meanwhile, could be increased by around 3.5 per cent starting in July as part of a separate bill. France’s central bank forecast this month that French inflation ... (full story)