Mon, April 23, 2012
PARIS, April 20 (Xinhua) -- French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Friday there is no need to worry about the risk of euro implosion, while warning against complacency in repayment of debt.
"The risk of the euro implosion no longer exists," the UMP presidential candidate said in a morning interview with the French radio RTL.
"That is a reality, and we can't afford to make any mistakes. The minute we ease up on cutting spending, reducing the deficit, reducing the debt, France will share the fate of Spain," the incumbent president warned in the last official day of campaign.
Sarkozy also noted "France has raised 8 billion euros (10.6 billion U.S. dollars) the day before yesterday to finance its debt" at a historically low rate, under 3 percent, while "Spain, at the same time, borrows at twice the price of France to finance its debt."
"If tomorrow you want to escape the tyranny of the markets, you must repay your debts," Sarkozy said.
In late March, the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE) reported public debt of France had risen to 85.8 percent of GDP in 2011.
Sarkozy promised a balanced budget in 2016 if elected, while his main rival, Socialist candidate Francois Hollande, who is the poll-favorite to win two rounds of voting in the upcoming presidential elections, intends to achieve the same goal in 2017.
