France, Italy Present United Front on Euro Crisis

Anti-austerity advocates

France and Italy presented a united front Wednesday on the eurozone debt crisis amid deepening divisions over belt-tightening policies in the European Union as some countries reach breaking point.

French President Francois Hollande met Italy's brand new Prime Minister Enrico Letta, in Paris only days after he took office, and warned that austerity alone was "no longer enough", stressing the need for a focus on growth.

"If one doesn't notice that Europe equates to well-being, opportunities, growth; if one considers that Europe is a bad mother, this will become a big democratic problem because citizens will react against this bad European mother," Letta told reporters after the talks.