French President hits out at US policy to levy fines on European companies
France's President Francois Hollande has accused the US of double standards in throwing multi-billion euro fines at European banks while complaining about European Commission investigations into US companies.
Speaking to French magazine L'Obs he explained that this was a key reason why he could not support a European free trade deal with the US.
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"When the Commission goes after Google or digital giants which do not pay the taxes they should in Europe, America takes offence," said Hollande.
"And yet, they quite shamelessly demand 8bn from BNP or 5bn to Deutsche Bank."
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Hollande is six months away from a Presidential election and his comments come days after a French parliamentary report criticised the US over its increasingly aggressive use of extraterritorial laws that had led to billions of euros being levied on European countries.