France warned Sunday that any problem with heavily-indebted Italy would affect the very heart of the eurozone. The statement from President Nicolas Sarkozy's office came as an Italian newspaper reported that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) could bail out Italy with up to 600 billion euros ($794 billion).
"If there is an Italian problem, then it is the heart of the eurozone that is hit," the statement said. "It is up to Italy to do what it has undertaken to do."
Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have said a debt collapse in Italy would be "the end of the euro," Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti's press office said Friday.
At a mini-summit with Monti in Strasbourg on Thursday, Merkel and Sarkozy "said they were aware that a collapse of Italy would inevitably be the end of the euro," it said in a statement.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.