French braced for austerity budget

Prime minister Francois Fillon has warned the French that belts must tighten next year to reduce the debt.

He said that the 2012 budget "will be one of the most rigorous France has known since 1945", the end of the Second World War.

Mr Fillon spoke ahead of a meeting called by President Nicolas Sarkozy with a small group of ministers to plot measures aimed at filling public coffers with up to €8bn more in funds.

A plan could be announced tomorrow after a special Cabinet meeting.

Mr Sarkozy, expected to seek a new mandate in next year's presidential elections, wants to keep France's excellent credit rating amid Europe's debt crisis.

The summit he hosted of the Group of 20 failed to deliver funds to ease the panic before it closed on Friday.