PARIS (MNI) – The French government believes it can spearhead the
launch of a financial transactions tax in Europe by accelerating the
timetable, Labor Minister Xavier Bertrand said Monday.

The issue will be a hot item on the agenda at a working lunch of
French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel
later today in Berlin.

Sarkozy said Friday he would “not wait for all the others to reach
an accord before imposing a tax on financial transactions.” He would
like to win over Germany before the meeting of EU heads state and
government at the end of the month.

France is eyeing a 0.1% levy on bond and equity market transactions
and a 0.01% tax for derivatives markets. The measure could be part of a
third mini-budget to be submitted to Parliament for approval next month.

The City of London is adamantly opposed and Berlin and Rome would
prefer to wait until a deal can be reached comprising at least the other
members of the Eurozone.

“It’s a good idea,” Bertrand said in a radio interview. “We are
moving ahead and I am persuaded the other countries will go ahead.”

The head of the French employer group Medef, Laurence Parisot,
declared Sunday that the tax would be “a blow to financing of the
economy.” She predicted a “massive” shift in financial business away
from France.

Speaking for players in France’s financial sector, the association
Paris Europlace warned last week that a unilateral move by the
government would weaken the economy.

“It’s not a question of going alone,” Bertrand countered.
“Everybody says, ‘We will do it'; everybody said it’s a good idea. But
at one point, somebody must take the plunge.”

“We’re not going to wait for the others,” he continued. “We are
deciding to advance, and I am certain that this will get the ball
rolling — both in Europe and worldwide.”

With presidential elections three months away, Sarkozy has upstaged
his opponents on the Left by snatching the controversial measure from
their campaign programs after arguing for years that unilateral action
would be detrimental to the country’s financial sector.

–Paris newsroom +331 4271 5540; Email: ssandelius@marketnews.com.

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