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French parliament backs Greek debt deal

Xinhua, July 16, 2015 Adjust font size:

French lawmakers on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved Greece's new bailout deal in a fresh move to support Athens to remain in the eurozone.

At the National Assembly, 412 deputies supported the accord with 69 against the 82-billion-euro (89.82 billion U.S. dollars) third bailout for Greece.

"Europe has overcome a crisis which could be fatal. To abandon Greece is to abandon ourselves," Prime Minister Manuel Valls told lawmakers.

To Valls, the new bailout agreement "is vital to give Greece the breathing room it needs to imagine a future that's not only about paying back its debt."

He also announced that the eurozone was considering measures to help Greece, including lengthening the payback period on its debt and lowering interest rates.

The European Commission on Wednesday proposed granting Greece a three-month bridge loan worth 7 billion euros from a 28-member backed European Union-wide fund to address Athen's urgent financing needs.

Two days ago, the euro zone's 19 leaders agreed to further support debt-ridden Greece with a full bailout program after Athens proposed new financial reforms and pledged further fiscal rigor. (1 euro = 1.095 U.S. dollars) Endit