In an interview published on Saturday in Le Figaro newspaper, former French president Valery Giscard d’Estaing warned that France may soon find itself in a situation similar to the one experienced by Greece and that the country may soon be forced to ask for IMF’s help.

D’ Estaing, who was President of the French Republic from 1974 until 1981, with the support of Helmut Schmidt, who served as German Chancellor during the same period, proposes the formation of a “consistent group of countries” around the euro that will share the same budgetary and fiscal rules, which he calls “Europa”.

Despite the high debt of the country, he explains, “we are currently protected by very low interest rates, but this is only temporary. Fed (the central banking system of the US) has announced its intention to raise interest rates as soon as economic conditions allow it, probably in 18 months. (…) On that day, our country may find itself in the same situation as Greece. The government will be forced to seek help from the IMF.”