'No exception' for France on EU budget rules

France will receive no further leeway on meeting the European Union's rules on public spending, EU Economics Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici warned on Thursday.

"There will be no new delay, there will be no exception," Moscovici, a former French finance minister, told AFP, hours ahead of a high-stakes televised debate of conservative candidates for the French presidential election.

France has previously won two delays on meeting the EU's strict limit on running high deficits, set at three percent of gross domestic product, and several main candidates have called for France to again flout the rules.

"I strongly encourage any serious candidates to the presidential election not play with the three-percent (rule)," Moscovici told AFP.

Seven candidates, including France's ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy and former prime minister Alain Juppe, will face off in a televised debate ahead of a primary widely seen as the main battle for the presidency.

Breaking the rules would "be bad for France's image and loss of credibility", the EU commissioner said.

Source: AFP