EUROZONE-GREECE/SPAIN FRANCE Greek debt impasse sparks fears of "Grexit" in Spain and France

Record ID: 151692

  • Title: EUROZONE-GREECE/SPAIN FRANCE Greek debt impasse sparks fears of "Grexit" in Spain and France
  • Date: 18th June 2015
  • Summary: MADRID, SPAIN (JUNE 18, 2015) (REUTERS) CIBELES SQUARE, MADRID CITY HALL IN THE BACKGROUND SPANISH FLAGS WAVING PEOPLE WALKING IN THE STREET SIGN READING "METRO - BANK OF SPAIN" PEOPLE WALKING IN THE STREET (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) 51-YEAR-OLD MADRID RESIDENT, MARIAN LOPEZ, SAYING: "I think it could affect the concept of Europe. When somebody leaves who's next? as Greece said
  • Embargoed: 3rd July 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: France
  • Country: France
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA621W79GGIGZMQO605JP4EUMVF
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Madrid residents said on Thursday (June 18) they hoped Greece could reach an agreement with its international creditors, while people in Paris backed keeping the country in the euro zone.
    Spain's economy is recovering slowly after the country was forced to ask for a 40 billion euro ($52 billion) bank bailout in 2012.
    The economy is expected to expand by at least two percent this year after a six-year crisis in which high unemployment and towering private debt levels have hampered spending.
    But it still has a huge problem with joblessness and in April 2015 the unemployment rate inched over the 22% mark.
    Spaniards in Madrid on Thursday said they feared a "Grexit" could damage not only Europe, but also Spain.
    "I think it could affect the concept of Europe. When somebody leaves who is the next? as Greece said. Not only because the PIGS (Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain), as we have been labelled, could leave but because the concept of Europe could fall apart," Art professor Marian Lopez said.
    Sixty-year-old Luis said Europe needed to reduce pressure on Greece.
    Spain's economic rebound has fuelled the hopes of the People's Party (PP) of the centre-right government, though it took a battering in last month's regional and local elections.
    Polls show anti-austerity party Podemos ('We Can'), often compared to Greek radical left party Syriza, could lead a change on the Spanish political scene.
    French Finance Minister Michel Sapin said on Thursday it would be a total catastrophe for Greece if the country left the euro zone but that France was doing all it could to find a deal.
    On the streets of Paris, some said they supported Greece and saw no reason why a country falling on hard times should be forced to give up the euro.
    "The Greek currency is the euro. We all support (Greece) and just because a country is going through hard times - whatever the origin of the difficulty is - we can't tell the Greek people that they shouldn't use the euro anymore. In whose name?" Politician Jacques-Henri Strauss said.
    Ancient Greek teacher Jean-Claude Beacco said that he did not believe a "Grexit" would have an impact in France.
    "It has consequences for Europe, but Europe is not a geographical entity, it's a political entity. So, every country should be able to make its own choices," he said.
    Paris resident Annette Weber said that she would think twice before taking vacations in Greece this summer due to the current situation.
    Hopes of a breakthrough on Thursday at a meeting of European finance ministers, once seen as the last opportunity for an agreement, looked increasingly remote.
    Athens must find a way out of the impasse by the end of June, when it faces a 1.6 billion euro repayment due to the International Monetary Fund, potentially leaving it bankrupt.
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