Frenchwoman kills herself, children over financial woes

A young Frenchwoman has strangled her three underage children before ending her own life by hanging, in a case highlighting economic woes in Europe.

The woman, 22, identified by her first name as Emilie killed her children, aged three and two years, and 15 days on Sunday night in Saint-Gelais Commune in western France, Le Parisien reported.

Emilie’s husband committed suicide on January 27 due to financial and occupational problems. The husband had killed himself one week after the birth of their youngest daughter.

The man, a welder in a factory in a nearby commune, had also put an end to his life by hanging.

In January, France’s Employment Minister Michel Sapin questioned the economic policies of President Francois Hollande, admitting that the European country is “totally bankrupt.”

A recent poll in Le Figaro showed that 80 percent of the population agree with Sapin’s viewpoint.

The French employment minister’s comment comes as Hollande is trying to improve the image of the French economy after vowing to reduce the country’s deficit through spending cuts by 60 billon euros (USD81 billion) and increasing taxes by 20 billion euros (USD27 billion) over the next five years.

According to figures published by France’s National Statistics Institute in September 2012, France’s national debt reached 90 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP).

Europe plunged into financial crisis in early 2008. The worsening debt crisis has forced EU governments to adopt harsh austerity measures and tough economic reforms, which have triggered incidents of social unrest and massive protests in many European countries.