PRESS RELEASE
French Presidential Candidate Jacques Cheminade Nails Sarkozy on French Television
April 4, 2012 (EIRNS)—French President Nicholas Sarkozy made an appearance on a French Channel + TV news program this evening in which French Presidential Candidate Jacques Cheminade, a long-time collaborator of Lyndon LaRouche, confronted Sarkozy over his claims that the financial crisis was over. The moderator began the show with a video of a question to Sarkozy (shown in the studio on a big screen) by Cheminade (filmed a day earlier when Cheminade was on the same show), concerning Sarkozy's claims that the four-year financial crisis was over, with a reference to what is being done to Greece.
On the morning of Sarkozy's appearance, a Greek pensioner committed suicide in the square in front of the Greek Parliament, leaving a shocking note saying that the austerity cuts in pensions over the last two years by a government that he characterized as treasonous, was denying him the possibility of dignified survival.
Moderator: Good evening Nicholas Sarkozy; Good evening Jacques Cheminade, who was here: he has left a little 20-second question.
Cheminade: Nicholas Sarkozy, you have said that we have just overcome four years of crisis. Is that really serious, because, if we had really overcome it, why tighter our belts, and why impose the garrote on Greece? Is it to save the financial banks?
Moderator: And your response?
Sarkozy: Good [sighs]. We are out of four years of crisis, and notably, an absolutely phenomenal financial crisis which almost led Europe to collapse.
There is no imposition of a garrote on Greece. Jacques Cheminade maybe doesn't know it, but Greece had a debt of €225 billion. Thanks to Europe, thanks to the negotiations we led, this debt was taken down to €110 billion.
The Euro did not explode; the financial situation became calm. That is not to say that there are still no problems ...
Moderator (interupting): ... the markets are tumbling, there is a lot of worry ...
Sarkozy: ... yes, there are worries, certainly, but I think that the worst of the financial crisis, and the economic crisis was created by the crisis of confidence resulting from the uncertainty [doubt] of the Euro.
I believe in Europe. I believe in the Euro. We did everything to save Greece, a country of nine million inhabitants. Think about what it would have meant if Greece had gone bankrupt. The reactions cascade. This party, it seems, didn't turn away [from what had to be done]. That does not mean there are no memories of suffering. That doesn't mean there is still not a lot of effort to be done to get out of the economic crisis, but it was an extremely important stage.
