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    Repiglican Roast

    A spirited discussion of public policy and current issues

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    I'm furious about my squandered nation.

    Monday, September 24, 2007

    French PM Fillon tells farmers 'France is broke'

    Mr Fillon's government is due to announce the 2008 budget this week with a deficit of €41.5billion (£29billion).

    But his remarks drew immediate fire, both from within his own ranks and from the opposition.

    Francois Bayrou, the head of the centrist Modem party, said Mr Fillon seemed to forget that both he and Nicolas Sarkozy, who was finance minister before becoming president, had been in government since 2002 without improving the situation.

    He added that Mr Sarkozy's decision to spend up to €15billion (£10.5billion) on a package of tax cuts had only made things worse. One deputy from Mr Fillon's UMP party added: "This phrase was badly timed. The French are liable to ask why we committed all this spending on the fiscal package if we are in such a bad way."

    It is the second time in two weeks that Mr Fillon has run into trouble over his tough-talking rhetoric.

    The first came when he announced that he only needed "the word" from Mr Sarkozy to roll out a plan to enact state pension reforms, even before trade unions had begun negotiations. They called a strike for Oct 18.

    This gaffe reportedly enraged Mr Sarkozy, who spent days reassuring the unions that they would be consulted.

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