Greek exit "no drama" for rest of Europe: France's Sapin

PARIS (Reuters) - French Finance Minister Michel Sapin said on Tuesday Greece's place remained in the euro zone but that its exit would be "no drama" for the rest of Europe.

In a French TV interview, Sapin, who up until Monday was calling on Athens to return to the negotiating table, brushed aside a question on whether there could still be last-gasp talks and said the real issue was this Sunday's referendum on the lastest cash-for-reforms offer by Greece's creditors.

"It is a vote with consequences. If they say yes, we continue to negotiate ... With a no, we go into an unknown territory," he said on France 2 television.

"For the other countries in Europe, it would be a problem but not a drama if Greece left, it wouldn't be an economic upheaval all of a sudden," he said, calling Monday's losses on financial markets a simple correction of past gains.

"The issue would be for Greece itself, for the European project," he added.

Sapin has been one of the most ardent vocal backers of efforts to get a deal with the leftist government of Alexis Tsipras and said on Monday he had been personally hurt by the Greek premier's decision to cut short negotiations and put the matter to a referendum.

(Reporting by Mark John; editing by Leigh Thomas)