France and Italy presented a united front Wednesday on the eurozone debt crisis amid deepening divisions over belt-tightening policies in the European Union as some countries reach breaking point, Agence France-Presse reported. French President Francois Hollande met Italy's brand new Prime Minister Enrico Letta, in Paris only days after he took office, and warned that austerity alone was "no longer enough", stressing the need for a focus on growth.

French film camera manufacturer Aaton has entered financial receivership, according to a statement from company founder Jean-Pierre Beauviala posted to the French Society of Cinematographers (AFC) website, StudioDaily reported. Known for the Super 16 Xterà, the tiny Super 16 A-Minima, and most recently the 2-perf and 3-perf 35mm Penelope, the company was most recently developing the Penelope Delta, a digital camera that sought to replicate the ergonomics of the 35mm original.

President François Hollande offered an olive branch to France's restive business community on Monday with measures aimed at encouraging investment in startups, in a country desperate for economic growth, The Wall Street Journal reported. Mr. Hollande's proposals—including breaks on capital-gains taxes as well as visas for foreign entrepreneurs—are part of a broader effort to build bridges to corporate leaders angry over sharp tax increases, and to alter the perception many foreign investors have of France as unfriendly to business. Indeed, Mr.

Unemployment in Spain and France has jumped to new highs, data showed Thursday, lending ammunition to a growing chorus calling for easing the euro zone's austerity drive as the cure for its debt crisis because of the high social fallout, The Wall Street Journal reported. The jobless rate in Spain rose sharply to 27.2% of the workforce in the first quarter, the highest level since records began in the 1970s. In France, the number of registered job seekers who are fully unemployed rose to more than 3.2 million, topping a previous record set in 1997.

French chemicals maker Arkema will book a first-quarter charge of 125 million euros ($163 million) to reflect its exposure to unprofitable vinyls business Kem One, which it spun off in July 2012, Arkema said on Wednesday, Reuters reported. A French commercial court opened bankruptcy proceedings for Kem One in March at the request of its new owner, Klesch Group, led by American investor Gary Klesch. A court-appointed administrator is due to oversee Kem One's operations as part of the initial six-month procedure.

The French government threw in the towel Friday on plans to levy a 75% tax on the rich, a key election pledge of President François Hollande, and acknowledged it wasn't clear how it would hike taxes on the country's wealthiest citizens, The Wall Street Journal reported. After receiving advice from the country's top administrative court, French finance minister Pierre Moscovici said that the top tax rate applied to earned income couldn't exceed 60%, and that the maximum rate on a taxpayer's revenue could not rise above 66% overall.

France is set to follow in Switzerland’s footsteps by tackling private sector wages in the latest attack on European executive pay, the Financial Times reported. Legislation to increase shareholder power over remuneration and limit or ban enhanced pension deals and “golden parachutes” – similar to measures overwhelmingly approved by Swiss voters in a referendum this month – is being prepared, officials said.

French President François Hollande said Tuesday the country's budget deficit will be well above what he pledged when he came to power 10 months ago, and Europe needs to change its dose of austerity to fuel an economic recovery, The Wall Street Journal reported. The 58-year-old socialist president came to power in May last year saying he would steer France on a path to growth while also bringing the budget deficit down to 3% of annual output in 2013 from 5.2% in 2011, as the previous government had promised to investors and European peers.

Shareholders of debt-laden French spirits group Belvedere approved the company's debt-restructuring plan after an unruly meeting lasting more than five hours on Thursday, giving it a chance to avoid an otherwise likely liquidation, Reuters reported. The plan, which must still be approved by a court at a hearing on March 11, was supported by more than 70 percent of shareholders, while investors rejected resolutions to dismiss the company's board added to the agenda at the last minute.

France's government supports an Egyptian takeover offer for the threatened Petit-Couronne oil refinery in Normandy, the industry minister said on Thursday, raising hopes the plant will outlive a mid-April deadline for closure, Reuters reported. The refinery owned by insolvent Swiss company Petroplus is due to shut on April 16 if administrators decide that five bids submitted so far, including the Egyptian one and others by Swiss, Libyan and French firms, do not constitute valid offers.