German Economists Warn France Must Face Its Debt Problem
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German economist Heribert Dieter has a warning for France. He says France must understand how serious its money problems are. France has a lot of debt. Debt means money that a country owes to others.
France borrows money by selling special papers called bonds. A bond called OAT now pays 4.9 percent interest. This is much more than a popular French savings account called Livret A. If someone keeps the bond until 2036, they get two times more money than with Livret A.
Another German economist, Monika Schnitzer, also spoke about France. She said that if France has a debt crisis, France must fix it alone. A crisis is a very bad and dangerous problem. She said Europe should not help France with this problem.
These comments show that other European countries are watching France's money problems closely. Many people think France needs to act soon.
Vocabulary10 words
- debt
- money that you owe to someone else
- bond
- a paper that shows someone lent money and will get it back later with extra money
- crisis
- a very bad and dangerous problem
- interest
- extra money you get or pay for lending or borrowing money
- economist
- a person who studies money and how countries use it
- savings account
- a special bank account where you keep money safe
- borrow
- to take money and promise to give it back later
- serious
- very important and needing attention
- government
- the group of people who run a country
- Europe
- the continent where many countries like France and Germany are
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Quiz
Answer key
1. Understand the seriousness of its money problems 2. 4.9 percent 3. False
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Fill-in-the-blank listening
Play the audio again and fill in the missing words as you listen.
German economist Heribert Dieter has a warning for _____. He says France must understand how serious its money _____ are. France has a lot of _____.
France borrows money by selling special papers called _____. A bond called OAT now pays 4.9 percent _____. This is much more than a popular French savings account called _____.
Another German economist, Monika Schnitzer, also spoke about France. She said that if France has a debt _____, France must fix it _____. She said _____ should not help France with this problem.
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