Staatsfinanzen: Frankreichs Notenbankchef warnt vor Wahlkampf mit Schuldenschnitt-Versprechen
Der Linksaußen-Präsidentschaftskandidat will 18 Prozent der Staatsschulden streichen lassen. Verantworten müsste das Notenbankchef Emmanuel Moulin – doch der will das auf keinen Fall.
Paris - The president of France's central bank, Emmanuel Moulin, has criticized the left-wing politician Jean-Luc Mélenchon's plan to eliminate a portion of the country's national debt. Speaking on the radio station RTL on Friday, Moulin called the proposal "illegal, dangerous, and useless." He argued that France has always honored its debt obligations since 1797, and failing to do so would constitute a default.
Such a move would also violate agreements that could lead to increased inflation and higher interest rates, Moulin explained. Mélenchon, who is running for president in the upcoming election, had called for a 18% reduction in national debt, which he believed was held by the French central bank.
The plan has also been rejected as "financially dangerous" by the president of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde. Lagarde, a former French minister of economy and finance, stated that creditors would penalize such a step. She compared national debt to a private loan and emphasized that if a borrower refused repayment and then sought new financing, "I would not give you a loan," she said during an ECB press conference in Berlin. Lagarde emphasized that she would instead "significantly increase the interest rate."
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