French official steps down

PARIS: The French official leading a controversial pensions overhaul stepped down on Monday over a scandal involving undeclared payments, as a crippling transport strike against the proposals entered its 12th day, imperilling the holiday plans of thousands.

Jean-Paul Delevoye became the target of unions’ ire after admitting over the weekend that he had failed to disclose 13 private sector posts, both paid and unpaid, in a recent asset declaration. One of his jobs, as president of the Parallaxe education think-tank, paid nearly 5,400 euros ($6,000) a month on top of his ministerial salary -- money he should have forfeited under a 2013 political transparency law.