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The governor of France's central bank said Tuesday that it could take as many
as 10 years to clean up the country's deficit problems.
"I think it will take quite some years, perhaps between 5 to 10 years
probably... We must work progressively, so this will take at least 5 to 6
years," said Christian Noyer, governor of the Bank of France and a member of the
Governing Council of the European Central Bank.
Noyer, in an interview with French radio station Europe 1, also warned that
dealing with the problem too hastily would only produce negative results for
economic growth.
France has promised the European Union to reduce its budget deficit to 3
percent of gross domestic product in 2013 from 8 percent this year.
Meanwhile, Noyer voiced support for raising the minimum retirement age from
60 to 62 in 2018, saying that this would help balance the pension budget, which
cannot be done by increasing charges alone.
He also tried to ease concerns over the situation of the banks, which is
regarded as the biggest concern in international markets at the moment.
The inter-bank market in France is less solid and has less confidence than
before, but "the French banks are in good health, with confidence among
themselves, and we don't have big problems in our country," Noyer
said. |
