France's Hollande To Press Ahead With Reforms Despite Poll Losses

French President Francois Hollande pledged on Tuesday to press ahead with his reform drive after his ruling Socialist Party suffered heavy losses in weekend local elections. The Socialists have seen their support crumble as Hollande and his government have failed to live up to promises to cut unemployment while tax hikes early in his term hit voters hard. "The course has been set and we will stick to it," Hollande told journalists in Berlin after meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Hollande's reformist Prime Minister Manuel Valls has attributed the Socialists' poor showing in the weekend elections to divisions within the left rather than voter frustration with government policy.