Sarkozy allows 30 year grace period for repayment
French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced that France’s banks are ready to give Greece 30 years in which to pay off its debt; a figure that now exceeds 110 billion euro. Greece is waiting to receive more rescue loans, estimated to reach 120 billion euro. The German government plans to bail out Greece by way of private-sector and bank loans, in order to avoid massive government lending. International bankers and eurozone officials are meeting in Rome to evaluate the crisis, while protesters rally on the streets of Greece in preparation for a national strike that begins tomorrow.