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France must cut its spending Jean-Claude Trichet says

Friday, 23 November 2007

France must cut its spending Jean-Claude Trichet says

France has been advised to cut its public spending by the President of the European Central Bank, Jean-Claude Trichet, who just two months ago, warned that the country was well on the way to becoming the "number one spender" in 2007 in Europe.

Speaking to a commission in Paris created to boost economic growth, Jean-Claude Trichet is reported to have said France was "not in the right frame in terms of efficiency".

Jean-Claude Trichet pointed out that in 2007, public spending in France would be the greatest as a proportion of the gross domestic product within the European Union, and he said the country had the highest unemployment level in Europe.

Jean-Claude Trichet, who was governor of the Bank of France during the 1990s, went on to state that for older people, the jobless rate was "ridiculously low" and he advised there should be a greater flexibility in the labour market, as is put into practise in Denmark and the Irish Republic.

Jean-Claude Trichet was due to hold talks with President Nicolas Sarkozy.

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