May 23, 1981

The crisis of confidence over the French franc worsened today, on President Francois Mitterrand's first full day in office. Money continued to pour out of the country despite the tough defenses the new Government set up late last night, hours after the inauguration. In a further bid to halt the flight of capital abroad, the French central bank said this morning that it would raise its key interest rate to a record 22 percent on Monday. This represents an increase of four percentage points and is the third rise since President Mitterrand's electoral victory 12 days ago.

In yet another piece of surprising economic news, the Labor Department reported today that consumer prices last month rose by four-tenths of 1 percent, the lowest monthly increase since October 1977 except for a freak result last July. If the April increase in the Consumer Price Index were to continue for 12 months, it would produce an annual rate of 5.1 percent, as against 12.4 percent for all of last year and 13.3 percent in 1979. The rise in April was the third month this year in which retail prices climbed at what would be an annual rate of less than 10 percent. In the New York-northeastern New Jersey area, the index rose onehalf of 1 percent. The increase was marked by higher costs for transportation, restaurant meals, and natural gas and electricity used in the home. (Page 10.)

Roy L. Williams, interim president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, and four other men were indicted today by a Federal grand jury for allegedly conspiring to bribe Senator Howard W. Cannon, Democrat of Nevada. The others were Allen M. Dorfman, 58 years old, a Chicago insurance executive long identified by law-enforcement officials as having ties to organized crime figures; Joseph Lombardo, 52, reputedly a member of the crime syndicate in Chicago; Thomas F. O'Malley, 44, an employer-trustee of the teamsters' Central States, Southeast and Southwest Areas Pension Fund, based in Chicago, and Andrew G. Massa, 63, director of labor relations for the pension fund and its related health and welfare fund. Mr. Williams said in a statement released here this afternoon that the charges were ''a damn lie,'' and he accused ''the Federal bureaucracy'' and ''headline-grabbing politicians'' of trying to run the teamsters' union. Efforts to reach the other defendants by phone were unavailing.

A pilotless Israeli plane was shot down today during a reconnaissance mission over eastern Lebanon by one of the Syrian missile batteries whose removal Israel has demanded. Syria said its forces brought down two Israeli drones. Israel confirmed the loss of one. (Lebanese officials said that the Syrians fired two missiles but that one missed, United Press International reported.)

President Reagan said today that he and Chancellor Helmut Schmidt of West Germany were in agreement on all the issues they discussed. ''I think we have established a cordial relationship and a friendship that bodes well for the future and for the West,'' he said. ''I would like to agree with every line of the President,'' Mr. Schmidt added as he and Mr. Reagan bade farewell on the White House lawn after two days of talks. Secretary of State Alexander M. Haig Jr. said at a news conference this afternoon, that he was authorized by Mr. Schmidt to say that the West German leader was ''100 percent satisfied with the outcome of his visit to Washington.'' Mr. Schmidt ''found no surprises'' and discovered that he and Mr. Reagan worked together very well, Mr. Haig said.