France won’t back off from its planned tax on companies like Facebook and Google, even after the US suggested it may use trade tools against the levy.

Italy would be open to taking a stake in the proposed merger between Renault and Fiat-Chrysler, as long as the deal triggers economic benefits for the country, a government undersecretary said.

France will propose a new “growth contract” with its eurozone partners to encourage northern European countries to invest more and for southern countries to undertake further reforms, its finance minister said.

France intends to tax the revenue of about 30 internet giants, such as Amazon, to help ensure “fiscal justice,” according to the country’s Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire.

The board of French carmaker Renault has named two new leaders to replace industry veteran Carlos Ghosn, who resigned after weeks of detention in Japan.

The Government continues to have “reservations” over proposals by the European Commission, which are likely to recommend next week levying a 3% tax on the sales of major online companies. However, the Government believes the debate over the plans will be long drawn out, say officials.

A prediction by the French finance minister that the EU plan to tax revenues of tech companies in Europe will be set at a rate “closer to 2% than 6%” will boost the chances of the proposal being adopted in the face of Irish opposition, a leading Irish tax expert has said.

A six-year push to impose a tax on financial transactions in the EU may have run its course, with Germany and France hesitating as they prepare for Brexit and a redrawing of the financial map.

THE French agricultural ministry has said milk producers can exceed their 2011/2012 milk quota by up to 2%, without penalty.

GERMANY and France stepped up a drive yesterday for coercive powers to reject eurozone members’ budgets that breach EU rules, as a market rout of European debt eased temporarily on hopes of outside help for Italy and Spain.

IRISH farming interests have been protected by the long-term food security and emergency food stocking model proposed by French president Nicolas Sarkozy and Agriculture Minister Bruno Le Maire at the G20 World Farm Leaders meeting in Paris.

FRANCE and Ireland are taking a joint strategic approach to ensure strong funding for farmers under the forthcoming reform of the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP).

FRANCE and Ireland have called on the European Commission to increase the level and scope of export refunds and to continue to apply all available market support measures for the dairy industry.

THE dairy sector is heading for disaster if milk prices stay at their current historically low level, European agriculture and rural development commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel has admitted.