German minister praises French candidate Fillon's economics
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Francois Fillon puts his hand on his hear after delivering a speech following the conservative presidential primary Sunday, Nov. 27, 2016 in Paris. Fillon won France's first-ever conservative presidential primary Sunday after promising drastic free-market reforms and a crackdown on immigration and Islamic extremism, beating a more moderate rival who had warned of encroaching populism. (AP Photo/Kamil Zihnioglu) (The Associated Press)
Germany's powerful finance minister is praising conservative French presidential candidate Francois Fillon's economic program as strong and says he hopes that far-right leader Marine Le Pen never becomes president in France.
Fillon won France's first-ever conservative presidential primary on Sunday after promising drastic free-market reforms, along with a crackdown on immigration and Islamic extremism. Le Pen is expected to be his toughest competitor in the two-round presidential election in April and May.
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, a leading conservative and a key architect of Europe's response to its recent debt troubles, said Tuesday that Fillon's program "has strong plausibility (on) how France could better display its true strengths."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Schaeuble added "to be clear, I hope that Ms. Le Pen never becomes president of France."