It's simply arithmatic - you cannot spend more than you make if you cannot borrow. Hollande can only raise spending if he can convince the markets to lend, and that is unlikely at the moment.
As you say - Greece, they spent so much on propping up industries that when they began to cut government expenditure the economy collapsed because it couldn't function without high public spending. Sooner or later governments with bloated budgets must cut spending or go broke. In France already over 55% of your GDP goes in taxes, which means that the public sector is powering more of the economy that the private sector and that is a problem because the public sector cannot make enough money to pay its bills.
In the UK we have had what amount to quite modest cuts in services, given that public spending was above 50% of GDP and once all the cuts have been made wwe will have cut less than Labour expected to AND spending will still be higher than 6 years ago, sitting around 2207-8 levels. More to the point, the cuts in services and budgets have not led to a fall in government expenditure, because the money saved is used to service the debt, i.e. close the budget defecit.
France is currently losing money to the markets, if you do not enact cuts you will simple become even poorer. Hollande must deal the hand he was dealt, not try to turn a pair of twos into a straight flush.
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