A French minister has warned that his country could face a bailout by the International Monetary Fund, just days after warnings emerged that Britain may face the same fate.
Eric Lombard, the Economy Minister, issued a stark warning that "a risk exists" that the IMF will be forced to bail out Paris.
The revelation comes amid widespread predictions that the French Government may be toppled in a matter of weeks after Prime Minister Francois Bayrou said he would seek a vote of no confidence in Parliament.
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Economy Minister Eric Lombard issued a stark warning that 'a risk exists that the IMF will intervene' in France's economic affairs
|REUTERS
France has a predicted deficit equivalent to 5.4 per cent of GDP this year, and commands a national debt of €3.3trillion (£2.85trillion).
Mr Bayrou's announcement caused nerves for investors, with the stock market dipping by 1.73 per cent in early trading.
Then, the country's 10-year bond yield was pushed above 3.5 per cent.
In response, Mr Lombard warned: "I bet that within a fortnight, our debt will be costing more than Italy’s."
The French Government may be toppled in a matter of weeks after Prime Minister Francois Bayrou said he would seek a vote of no confidence in parliament
|REUTERS
The looming economic crisis comes as a humiliation for French President Emmanuel Macron, who once claimed that he was the "Mozart of finance".
Mr Lombard said that the Government "hopes to and must avoid" a similar event to the one which hit Britain during the 1970s.
Mr Bayrou has so far described France's economic troubles as a "national emergency" and has since rolled out plans for sweeping cuts in spending and tax rises adding up to €43.8billion (£37.8billion).
However, his proposals have faced intense criticism from the protest-happy French public, due to unpopular measures including the removal of two bank holidays and cuts to healthcare spending.
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In response to Mr Lombard's bleak warnings for France's financial affairs, economist Julian Jessop jabbed: "Typical of the French, trying to steal a march on the Brits..."
He added: "I think this is just French politicking - 'pass our Budget or we'll have to call in the IMF' - but it's still another handy reminder that the UK is not the only country facing a fiscal crisis."
Liam Halligan, meanwhile, told GB News on Tuesday that Britain is in "deep trouble" and may be heading towards a similar debt crisis and IMF bailout - following the same warning from Professor Jagjit Chadha, the former head of the influential National Institute for Economic and Social Research (NIESR).
However, a spokesman for the Treasury labelled such warnings as "unfounded" in response.
Liam Halligan told GB News on Tuesday that Britain is in 'deep trouble'
| PAReform UK leader Nigel Farage told The Telegraph earlier this week: "I have a sense of deja vu. It is the 1970s all over again, it's just that our social position is even worse than it was then.
"We had terrible times in the '70s economically, but at least we were fairly united as a country, as a culture.
"This time we have bad economic times here, worse coming, in a nation that is bitterly divided, so it's not a happy formula.
"We are in a debt spiral and I expect Rachel Reeves's Budget in the autumn will make it even worse. In fact, we're not very far away from being in an economic doom loop."