[NYTr] France's public finances 'critical': PM

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

AFP - Sep 24, 2007
http://www.afp.com/english/news/stories/070924064236.0m5npy29.html

France's public finances 'critical': PM

PARIS (AFP) - French Prime Minister Francois Fillon on Monday warned
that the country's public finances were in a "critical" state and that
drastic action is needed.

"We had a 1.15 billion deficit at the end of 2006," Fillon told RTL
radio. "The situation is critical."

Fillon said that France had not had a balanced budget "since 1974".

"Any company head, any head of a family, any farmer understands that we
cannot continue to borrow to finance operating expenses," he said.

Fillon warned Friday that the French state was nearing bankruptcy
because of the many assistance programmes that it finances.

President Nicolas Sarkozy last week unveiled plans to overhaul pensions
for some public employees and to streamline the civil service, the
boldest moves yet in his reform agenda since taking office four months
ago.