French Presidential Elections: Hollande to order France finance audit if elected

Francois Hollande

French presidential election frontrunner Francois Hollande said on Thursday he would order an audit of public finances if elected in May, a day after setting an ambitious timetable for implementing his tax-and-spend promises.

The Socialist candidate, leading conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy in polls for a May 6 run-off, made the announcement hours before his rival was to present a costed manifesto in his uphill battle for re-election.

“We’ll have the Court of Auditors carry out an evaluation immediately … and freeze certain spending once we have the results,” Hollande said in an interview on Canal+ television.

For more: NewsWires : euronews : the latest international news as video on demand