President Francois Hollande holds a key press conference Thursday, a day after his first anniversary in office was marred by news that France had fallen back into recession amid plummeting economic indicators. The Socialist leader, who is the most unpopular post-War president according to opinion polls, had pledged to turn back double-digit unemployment in Europe's second-largest economy this year, but that now seems highly unlikely.

French President Francois Hollande said Wednesday that he now anticipates "zero growth" for 2013, after the eurozone's second largest economy plunged into recession. "It is likely that there will be zero growth in 2013," Hollande told a press conference in Brussels, while his government in Paris has tipped 0.1 percent growth for the year. bur-rt/rl

PARIS - French President Francois Hollande is defending the record of his first year in office and promising to unveil a 10-year plan to invest 20 billion euros ($26 billion) in infrastructure, digital technology and clean energy. After a special Cabinet meeting Monday, his spokeswoman clarified that some of that money would come from projects already announced. She said the rest of the details would have to wait for the plan's announcement. Amid a stagnating economy and rising unemployment, Hollande has seen his popularity plummet since he was elected last May 6.

Beleaguered French President Francois Hollande marked the first anniversary of his election win with a promise to launch a major investment programme that will transform the country. Under fire from right and left, Hollande outlined what amounts to a comeback strategy constructed around a ten-year programme of investment in digital and other new technolgies, alternative energy, health and infrastructure. "We have achieved a lot in a year, but there remains a considerable amount to do," Hollande told his ministers, asserting that "the coming year will be a year of results."