News stops: State firm bosses see pay capped

ANOTHER election promise can be ticked off by new President François Hollande as plans were outlined to cap executive pay at €450,000 for state firms.

The finance ministry said the €450,000 cap had been calculated by looking at the average salary of the 10% of lowest-paid workers at 15 state companies.

Less than 20 executives currently have salaries over the limit, the ministry said.

Worries are growing in the offices of Crédit Agricole, the third largest bank in France, over the problems being faced in Greece.

The bank has been making contingency plans should Sunday's election in Greece see the country leave the euro and pitch the country into unknown waters.

Crédit Agricole owns Emporiki Bank of Greece, Greece's sixth-largest bank, and with billions of euros having left the country fears are growing of a run on the banking system.

Lance Armstrong, the seven time winner of the Tour de France, is facing fresh charges that he used performance-enhancing drugs and techniques, something he was quick to deny on his own website.

Finally, Andy Schleck will miss this year's Tour de France with a broken pelvis, which means a major rival of Britain's Bradley Wiggins will be missing.