Rushing French deficit reduction would be a mistake: Hollande

PARIS (Reuters) - France would be wrong to rush the reduction of its public deficit in the currently weak economic situation, President Francois Hollande said on Thursday. Speaking at a news conference, Hollande said that he did not know what Moody's would do when it updates its rating on France on Friday. But even if France were downgraded again, he noted that France was enjoying currently record low borrowing rates and ruled out stepping up the pace of budget-tightening. "My position is, and that will be line we defend at the European level, that it would be a mistake to reduce our deficits too quickly in the context of currently low inflation and weak growth," Hollande said. (Reporting by Jean-Baptiste Vey; writing by Leigh Thomas; editing by Mark John)