Sarkozy's surplus pledge

Nicolas Sarkozy has promised to deliver a budgetary surplus if he is re-elected in the France's upcoming presidential election.

Speaking at a campaign event to unveil his economic manifesto, Sarkozy warned that if the French elected his Socialist challenger, Francois Hollande, the country would meet a similar fate as countries like Spain or even Greece, which has been forced to accept two international bailouts to save it from going into default.

"The situation that our Spanish friends are going through, that our Greek friends have gone through, reminds us of reality. Look at the situation in Spain after seven years of Socialist rule," Sarkozy said.

"We cannot refuse to make the historic choice of competitiveness, innovation and reducing public spending," he added.

Apart from spending cuts, his plans include raising the sales tax from 19.6 to 21.2 percent and reducing payroll charges for employers. He also said he would reduce the size of government mainly by not replacing retiring civil servants.

Surplus by 2017

According to his figures, the spending cuts and tax hikes should save the country 115 billion euros ($150 billion) and see the budget balanced by 2016. By 2017, a surplus of 0.5 percent would be achieved. Sarkozy also said he would ask the European Union to freeze France's payments to the 27-member bloc.

Details of plans are contained in a 36-page "Letter to the French" that his campaign team was to send out to millions of the country's voters.

The release of the incumbent president's economic manifesto comes with him running neck-and-neck with Hollande in recent opinion polls.

Hollande's alternative

Hollande had earlier unveiled his own 60-point plan aimed at attracting voters who are unhappy with Sarkozy's austerity program. Among other things, Hollande would impose a ceiling on fuel prices and introduce a 75 percent income tax on high earners.

During his speech on Thursday, Sarkozy singled out Hollande's plan to reduce the age of retirement to 60 from 62 for people who entered the workforce at the age of 18 or younger for particular criticism.

"That proposal alone is a negation of the existence of the crisis and the existence of the outside world," he said.

The latest opinion polls give Sarkozy a slight edge or put him level with Hollande in the April 22nd first round of voting. The polls all give Hollande a decisive advantage, however, if the two men's names are on the ballot for a run-off next month, with some finding that as many as 59 percent of voters would back the Socialist candidate.

pfd/tm (AFP, Reuters)