Hollande: we have to stay vigilant
Published: 03 Aug 2012 09:17 GMT+02:00 | Print version
Updated: 03 Aug 2012 09:17 GMT+02:00
French President Francois Hollande admitted on Thursday he is braced for further market turbulence this summer following a stocks sell-off on Thursday.
As he set off for a three-week summer break, Hollande commented on the markets' negative reaction to remarks from European Central Bank President Mario Draghi earlier in the day which implied that ECB intervention in bond markets was not imminent, as many players had hoped.
"I think the ECB's decision was important," Hollande said. "It has confirmed what we (EU leaders) decided at the end of June. It allows the ECB to intervene when it is necessary.
"There will be a market reaction and the markets are turbulent," Hollande added. "We have to remain vigilant."
Hollande is due to spend three weeks in the south of France but he said he was ready to return to Paris at a moment's notice should the crisis in the eurozone make it necessary.
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