New French government pitches tax on rich

France's Socialist government wants to raise 7.2 billion euros ($9 billion US) in new revenue from higher taxes on estates, banks and oil companies to try to reduce the deficit.

The measures are among those in a revised 2012 budget draft presented at a Cabinet meeting Wednesday. It will go to parliament later this month, where it is expected to win approval.

France's new leadership has criticized austerity measures imposed around Europe, saying they are making the region's debt crisis worse. It has focused on higher taxes for the well-off, though some spending cuts are also expected.

Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, speaking at a Fourth of July event at the U.S. Embassy, warned that Europe's debt crisis "has not been extinguished" and that it's not a "problem of the Europeans alone."