French central bank head says budget plan goes in right direction

PARIS (Reuters) -French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou's budget tightening plan announced this week goes in the right direction although some details needed to clarified, French central bank governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau said on Thursday.

Bayrou proposed on Tuesday scrapping two public holidays and freezing most public spending as part of a 43.8 billion euro ($51 billion) budget squeeze to get the deficit down next year.

In reaction, Villeroy said that some savings measures remained to be documented in detail and debated in parliament, where opposition parties were quick to criticize the package.

"Subject to this important reservation, the general direction seems to be moving in the right direction to finally bring our public debt under control, while preserving growth by reducing budgetary uncertainty and pursuing certain fundamental reforms," Villeroy told journalists.

(Reporting by Leigh Thomas;Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)

---

Serious News for Serious Traders! Try StreetInsider.com Premium Free!

---

You May Also Be Interested In

• Coffee traders' big shipments are set to boost exchange stocks and weigh on prices 
• Norway's Princess Astrid dies, aged 94, two days after king's funeral
• ECB's Makhlouf says further rate hikes could hurt economic growth