French President Nicolas Sarkozy insisted Sunday that measures taken to end the financial crisis threatening Europe and the rest of world had started taking effect. "Europe is no longer on the edge of the abyss," he said, adding that "the financial crisis is calming down." "The elements of a stabilisation of the financial situation in the world and in Europe are in place," Sarkozy said in an hour-long television interview to unveil reforms aimed at lifting France out of the economic doldrums. He added that France s public deficit would be better than predicted for 2011, at 5.3 or 5.4 percent of gross domestic product instead of the 5.7 percent forecast. Sarkozy s comments came as the sovereign debt crisis in the eurozone continues to dominate political debate in Europe and against a backdrop of frantic negotiations on a write-down deal between Greece and its creditors. His interview came two weeks after France humiliatingly lost its top triple-A credit rating. The downgrade by Standard and Poor s added to already bleak economic figures for France — recession is looming and nearly three million people are out of work — and dealt a severe blow to Sarkozy s hopes of hanging on to his job. He is tipped to lose to a Socialist rival in presidential elections in April and May.
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