UPDATE 03.30.07: Having misplaced its magic "unemployment be gone" wand, the French government simply lies. It's much easier than actually making real improvements.

CONTROVERSY ERUPTS OVER FRANCE'S UNEMPLOYMENT FIGURES

March 30, 2007 (Playfuls.com) - A political disagreement over the accuracy of the official French unemployment rate grew sharper Friday after the European statistical office Eurostat published figures that contradicted those of the French government.

In its Euro-Indicators report, Eurostat said that the French unemployment rate for February stood at 8.8 per cent, significantly higher than figures reported by the French government's statistical office INSEE on Thursday, which put the level at 8.4 per cent.

Jack Lang, advisor to Socialist presidential candidate Segolene Royal, said the Eurostat report was "a slap in the face" for the French government.

For trying to beautify, to fake, to hide, to misrepresent the sad reality, the government - and this is unprecedented - stooped to statistical manipulation. What humiliation! The European Union refuses to validate the figure of 8.4 per cent announced by the government.

Statistical manipulation by the government of France! We are...shocked! Shocked!

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First, a reminder.

STORM OVER FRENCH JOBLESS FIGURE AS COVER-UP ALLEGED

March 7, 2007 (Unison.ie) - Unemployment in France may have been 9.5pc at the end of 2006, far higher than the official figure and potentially embarrassing for the government ahead of presidential elections... Data released in January from INSEE put the jobless rate in December at 8.6pc. But it has delayed releasing its annual revisions of the unemployment numbers until after the April and May election, fuelling speculation it is under pressure from the government to drag its feet because the actual number is much higher.

... Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin denied any interference with the release of the revised INSEE numbers and the statistics office has said the delay until the autumn of 2007 is due to technical problems.

For more on the magic of French "unemployment be gone", see our earlier post.

Now, the good news -- papering over that bad news.

FRENCH JOBLESS RATE FALLS TO 24-YEAR LOW

PARIS March 29, 2007 (AFP) - The French unemployment rate fell to 8.4 percent in February from 8.5 [!] percent in January, a newspaper reported on Thursday, signalling the lowest rate since June 1983.

Eight point five or eight or eight point six or nine point five. Your guess is as good as the government's.

Everything still doubleplusgood in France.

PFFT (What is this?): Take-a-guess unemployment 4 | It's always good news in France 3 | Rayonnement français 0