French President Jacques Chirac said on Tuesday that the government targets the jobless rate below 8 percent in 2007.

According to Chirac, the unemployment rate has kept a downward movement since February 2005.

Hundreds of thousands families have "found hope and made new plans," he added, attributing the achievements to the "consistent and active policies and determination of Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin."

Statistics show that the unemployment rate has been declining for the past 16 months. In August, the jobless rate dropped to 8.9 percent, the lowest since March 2002, while the youth jobless rates remain much higher, at 21.6 percent for those under 25.

Source: Xinhua