'Can't take risk' of Greece leaving euro

France can't take the risk of Greece leaving the eurozone, which would have an effect across the globe, the prime minister said on Tuesday, adding that the basis for a deal with Athens was there.

"France is convinced that we can't take the risk of Greece leaving the eurozone," a move that would affect economies across the globe, Manuel Valls told French radio. "The basis for a deal exists... There is no taboo subject when it comes to (Greek) debt, on the restructuring."

"France will do everything so that Greece remains in the eurozone because that's where it belongs, at the heart of the European project," he said.

Valls spoke hours before eurozone leaders were to hold an emergency summit to discuss the fallout of a weekend referendum in Greece, in which voters decisively rejected austerity reforms demanded by Athens' creditors in return for bailout funds.

Late on Monday, the leaders of Germany and France, the eurozone's biggest economies, presented a united front, calling on Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to make "precise" proposals in order to revive bailout talks.
Source: AFP