September 6, 2003	Saturday	Rajab 8, 1424

PARIS, Sept 5: European Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy strongly criticized French budget policy on Friday and went on to tell Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin to his face that France had to play by euro-zone rules.

Lamy, speaking on French radio, attacked as “facile” remarks by Raffarin late on Thursday defending the deficits and warned that the EU would insist on rules being respected.

The commissioner, himself French, then had a meeting with the prime minister, saying afterwards he had insisted that France had to respect its obligations.—AFP