Pierre Mauroy, who as France's prime minister in the early 1980s implemented radical social reforms that made life easier for French workers, has died at 84.
Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Mauroy died Friday in a hospital in a Paris suburb. He had been suffering from cancer.
Mauroy served as prime minister from 1981 to 1984 under Socialist President Francois Mitterrand. His reforms included cutting the legal work week, lowering the retirement age and raising the number of paid holidays.
His reforms helped reduce poverty but also led to higher inflation and a widening budget deficit, forcing a government U-turn. He resigned in 1984.
President Francois Hollande said Mauroy "was a Socialist and he wanted social justice to inspire all his acts."