Former French Prime Minister Raymond Barre has died, aged 83. The centrist politician served in the post for five years from 1976-81, under the presidency of Valery Giscard d'Estaing. Earlier in his career he was vice-president of the European Commission and was also mayor of Lyon from 1995-2001. He died in a Parisian hospital. He had been receiving treatment for a heart condition since April. Barre was little-known until he was appointed by President Giscard d'Estaing to succeed Jacques Chirac in 1976. Dubbed "France's best economist" by the president, Barre cut thousands of jobs in the loss-making steel and coal...