ORIGINAL FRENCH ARTICLE: Et soudain, Fillon créa la "rigueur"...
by anonymous
Translated Monday 19 July 2010, by Bill Scoble
and reviewed byFrench Prime Minister François Fillon mentioned the “austerity” practiced by France at a press conference on July 16. Until now, he has firmly rejected the use of the word to describe the budget cuts made by his government to absorb its debt.
Speaking to a gathering of Japanese businessmen, Fillon boasted of the austerity measures taken by the French government and said: “We are paying careful attention not to take measures that would halt growth, or which would even handicap our efforts in the area of research and innovation.”
“This is the reason why, among all the budget line-items, the only one not subjected to austerity is the budget for higher education and research,” he then blurted out, using the word “austerity” for the first time.