Premier edith cresson out on heels of voting setbacks

PARIS — Premier Edith Cresson, named less than 11 months ago as France’s first woman prime minister, resigned today following devastating election setbacks for the governing Socialist Party.

She was replaced by Finance Minister Pierre Beregovoy, the office of President Francois Mitterrand announced. Cresson, named premier last May by Mitterrand, has shouldered much of the blame

for two humiliating election defeats for the Socialists the past two Sundays. Since the second rout, Beregovoy’s name surfaced as the leading contender to replace Cresson. His fiscal

policies have won praise for stabilizing the franc and reducing inflation, although they have failed to halt a rise in unemployment to a near-record 9.9%. The recent defeats in regional and

district voting prompted renewed calls from the opposition for early parliamentary elections and even the resignation of Mitterrand, who is halfway through his second seven-year term. MORE

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